A Different Bunshin Jutsu
by NyghtWalker
Summary: Naruto could never do a bunshin. He was considered weak and many thought he never had a chance at passing his genin test. He tried everything and nothing helped his problem, until someone finally took notice of his disadvantage. Now given a new chance, he is put on a path of greatness. Rated T for some language. Smarter!Naruto. Some Bashing.
1. Chapter 1: Someone Noticed

Hello readers. Thanks for checking out my story. Please tell me if my Naruto is or is not OOC. I want him to be as Naruto as possible in the beginning.

Please review and Enjoy

*I don't own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Another Bunshin Jutsu

Chapter 1:

In the village of Konohagakure, a certain blond child was in class, sleeping on his book next to another sleeping kid who had black spiky hair that stuck up like a pineapple. The teacher of the class, known as Chunin Umino Iruka, was going over the clone technique once again and noticed the two sleeping kids in the corner. Not only that, but alot of his students were not even listening to him, making a tick mark appear on his head. He got mad and decided to use his fabled Big Head Jutsu.

"YOU BRATS BETTER PAY ATTENTION TO THIS AND LOOK AT THE BOARD! AND NARUTO! SHIKAMARU! STOP SLEEPING DAMN IT!"

Everyone started paying attention and two faces looked up to the teacher with grumpy faces, one of which was grumbling about something troublesome. " What is it Iruka-sensei? I'm really tired" the blond said.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so tired if you stopped plotting pranks at night."

Naruto looked down ashamed. He didn't plot pranks last night... okay maybe for alittle bit, but most of the night was spend practicing the bunshin jutsu. No matter how hard he tried, you couldn't grasp how to do it. His clones always came out misshapen and deformed. He wished that he could find a way for them to work, but he could never make one. Besides that, he didn't care much for school anymore. While he wanted to graduate, he knew that alot of people didn't want him to.

Naruto basically gave up on school after his second year, when it was clear that he was being sabotaged. He did well in class and did his best, but his grades were always poor and the tests seemed very difficult for him. He even found that the kunai and shuriken given to him were bent or damaged, affecting how they flew. He tried to complain, but nobody listened and ignored his protest, so he decided to give up.

After that, he spent all his time getting better at trap making. Not only was it useful for protecting his house, which was attacked sometimes, but was also great for traps. It was alot of trial and error, one incident covering him with peanut butter and chased by all the Inuzuka dogs in the village, but he learned quick. He used the new skills and targeted people who were terrible to him in school or sabotaged him. He also went after restaurant and store owners who refused to serve him for no reason. While it may have gotten him in some trouble, he felt it was all justified.

"Got it Iruka-sensei, I'll try harder next time to got to bed on time! Then I can get stronger and become Hokage!" he said, half yelling with a cheesy smile on his face. Almost everyone rolled their eyes at his declaration, which he seemed to do everyday. Iruka shook his head in amusement at the statement, used to Naruto's attitude.

"That's good and all, but to be a Hokage, you have to pass the academy to become a genin, so lets see if you have been paying attention. You only have one week until you take the next test so come up here to show us what you have learned."

Naruto got up from his seat and walked down to the front of the class, which seemed to be whispering amongst themselves about his imminent failure. Naruto ignored it walked to Iruka with determination.

"Now Naruto, lets see some basic techniques. How about a Kawarimi no Jutsu?" Naruto nodded and quickly went through the required hand-seals and next second he was gone with puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Iruka could see a book where Naruto originally was. The book was titled with big words 'Property of the Ramen King'. Iruka knew immediately that it was Naruto's and looked up to where the book used to rest to see Naruto. He was not prepared for what he saw next and was blasted back by a bloody nose. Where Naruto should be was naked girl who looked alot like Naruto, but had round breasts, longer blond hair in pigtails and larger hips. The only thing protecting the naked girl was a plume of smoke that only covered her private areas.

"What do you think Iruka-sensei? I think you like it judging how far you flew. I call it the Oiroke no Jutsu! It's great, ain't it?" said a sultry voice coming from the naked girl.

Most of the girls were livid at the fact that not only did he just change into a woman, exposing his body, but that this technique seemed to get the attention of most of the boys, some of which had to cover their noses that were dripping blood. Even Sasuke looked with interest before putting the calm and grumpy face on. That was more then they had ever gotten and they have been chasing him since the first day at the academy!

There were girls that found it amusing, but most of the girls like Sakura, Ino and others were ready to walk over to punch Naruto in the head, but they didn't have a chance as their teacher recovered and had an angry look on his face.

"Naruto! For what reason did you think up such a ridiculous technique! Change back this instant!"

Naruto changed back to his original look with orange jumpsuit and all and started laughing. Iruka looked like he was ready to burst and most of the veins on his forehead were pulsing with irritation.

"I made that Jutsu for perverts sensei! And it works too, so does that mean you're a closet pervert?!" This only seemed to irritate Iruka more.

"Naruto you idiot! I would make you sit back down..." Naruto started sitting back in his seat, with a lazy Nara muttering troublesome right next to all him "... but you still haven't shown us your bunshin. So come on Naruto, please show us what you have learned."

While Iruka would not usually put Naruto in a position of failure like this, he had to get it to the blond that the bunshin was necessary for passing, and getting him to do it in front of the class would force Naruto to see that he needed to train more. He may also have done it because of Naruto's stunt from a moment ago, but it was mainly the former.

Naruto stopped and looked back at Iruka with a downtrodden look and simply nodded. Naruto walked back up to the front of the class and tried to go over everything that he practiced the night before. Naruto gathered his chakra and focused. He closed his eyes before making the hand signs and screaming out "Bunshin no Jutsu". He felt the release of chakra and heard two poofs, but didn't need to open his eyes to know what happened. Naruto heard a collection of laughter from many of the kids in class and opened his eyes to see two dead looking clones on the ground with weird shaped limbs and deformed heads. Iruka looked at the clones and sighed as he looked at the young whiskered blond.

"I'm sorry Naruto but you failed at completing the Bunshin no Jutsu. You may now take your seat again." Naruto nodded blandly and walked back up the stairs with whispers following him. Whispers of him being the dobe, the dead last, the loser, the kid who won't ever pass if you gave him a thousand tries. Naruto learned to ignore them, but they still somewhat hurt.

He sagged into his chair and turned to Shikamaru, only to see that the Nara was asleep. He decided to get some sleep as well.

-(line break)-

Iruka watched all the student leave for yet another day and sighed. He hated that these kids would have to fight as a lifestyle but he made the best of his position by making sure they were ready for what awaited them outside the village. He then noticed that not everyone was gone. It seemed that nobody woke up Naruto, who was asleep at the top floor of desks.

Iruka walked up the stairs to the blond child and shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him quietly. "Naruto.. Naruto you need to wake up, school is over." The blond must have heard or felt him, as he began to shift and move from books that were being used as a pillow.

Naruto was having a wonderful dream. He was Hokage! Jiji gave him a pat on the back and told him how proud he was and the villagers finally looked at him with happiness instead of hatred. He was was about to put on the hat when he was suddenly pulled from his dream and found himself looking down at a math book from the Academy. He when he realized it was all a dream and that he was still in school. Naruto finally took notice of the person pushing against his shoulder and looked up to see Iruka-sensei looking down at him with a slight smile.

"Naruto, school is over. You should head home, okay?" Naruto nodded to the chunin's suggestion and groggily got up from his desk then grabbed his books. "Okay, see ya Iruka-sensei." Naruto walked over to the exit, prepared to leave the class. Iruka looked sadly at the dejected look his young student had. He knew that Naruto didn't have much to go home to. Naruto was an orphan like him, and while Iruka hated the Kyuubi no Yoko, he could not blame Naruto for what happened. Naruto was put in a position like him, left with no one and having to take care of himself.

"Naruto."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei?" The young blond asked with his head turned to look at his sensei. "Would you like to join me for ramen today?" Naruto's eyes widened and gave Iruka a wide smile. "Thanks Iruka-sensei, I would love to!" Iruka smiled at the enthusiasm that radiated off the young blond. Naruto could always get excited over ramen. "Well then we better get going." Iruka said while shaking his head with amusement. Sadly nobody heard him because Naruto was already down the street from the academy screaming to Iruka about hurrying up.

(line break)

Iruka could only cry anime tears for his wallet as Naruto ate through his twelfth bowl of ramen. While he was happy to spend time with Naruto, the blond boy was very expensive when it comes to food. He decided that maybe he could distract the kid from ordering more of 'his precious ramen'.

"So Naruto, why haven't you been practicing bunshin lately? I know you don't like it, but you can't pass any genin tests without knowing the how to make one." This seemed to get the blond's attention as he stopped eating and put his chopsticks down on the table. Iruka noticed how sad his student looked and wondered what could have made him feel that way.

"Well... no matter how hard I practice, I can't make one. I practice it alot but they always come out wrong and weird looking. I even practiced all yesterday! I must have made thousands of them, but they were always dead looking." Naruto said before going back to eating, but slower this time.

Iruka was confused by the statement. He always thought that the blond did poor with bunshin because he never practiced. While that might be true with paper tests, Naruto always seemed to do well in practical stuff. He managed to learn the Kiwarimi no Jutsu in two days! And he did great in trap-making. And that comment about making thousands. To make thousands in one night means that Naruto has alot of chakra.

Naruto never did show much aptitude for chakra control so maybe the blond was putting too much chakra in his clones.

Then Iruka suddenly felt his own words hit him from earlier. He accused Naruto of using all his time making traps and pranks and never even considered that his student was trying to practice or do something else. Iruka got out of his thoughts and looked back at Naruto, who just finished his twelfth bowl and seemed to stop there.

"Naruto, you said that you made thousands of clones. Did you feel tired at all after making them?" Naruto looked up to his sensei and answered with a confused expression on his face. "Of course! It was nighttime and I should have been sleeping." Iruka sighed and mentally slapped himself for not asked the right question. "That's not what I meant Naruto. Did you feel exhausted for out of energy after making so many clones?"

"Not really. I just kept trying to get it right but it would always come out wrong. I made tons of them but I never got tired except because it was past my bedtime." Iruka's suspicions were correct. Naruto had too much chakra to pull off a single clone, let alone several. The bunshin was the hardest for him because it required less chakra and needed more control, which Naruto had none of. Iruka got up from his seat and gestured for the blond to follow him.

"Naruto, I think I know why you can't do the bunshin." Naruto's eyes widened at the statement. He had been trying to do the bunshin right for years and it always failed. It was the reason that he never passed. That and his poor grades but he always scraped by in the paper tests."You really know why I can't make a bunshin."

"I THINK I know. I'm going to go to the Hokage and ask him if he can deduce if my hypothesis is right."

Naruto nodded and a huge smile formed on his face. He didn't know what some of those words meant, but if jiji could help him then he could finally graduate! Then he was one step closer to becoming Hokage!

The duo reached to Hokage tower, but Naruto was not very patient and ran inside to see his jiji, now with Iruka chasing after him. He made it to the Hokage's office and pushed the doors open to see the Hokage talking with a man in a full green skintight uniform with leg warmers, a bowl shaped head of hair. The man turned around to Naruto and revealed eyebrows that looked like they were ready to crawl off his face. "Yosh! Another young man who is ready to experience the power of youth! If only Lee were here to meet him!" Naruto stepped back to get further away from the man who looked like he was going to scream louder about youth and stuff. The Hokage sighed. " Gai, now that we have finished discussing your team's next mission, you are free to leave. I believe Naruto-kun would like to speak to me."

"Yosh! I will leave at once Hokage-sama!" And with that, the spandex wearer disappeared with a poof of leaves. Naruto was still extremely confused by what he just witnessed. Then he heard steps and turned around to see that Iruka finally caught up with him.

"Naruto! Don't go running off like that. Even if you know the Hokage, that does not mean you can interrupt him if he's in the middle of a meeting."

"It is alright Iruka. The meeting had just ended. But I am curious as to why Naruto and yourself needed to come and see me?"

"Well Hokage-sama, Naruto and I were discussing the bunshin and he told me that he cannot create one. He them explained that he did not get tired of making them despite making thousands over the period of last night. Naruto also told me that he could never make one and that he never got tired of making them. I thought that you might see Naruto so we can come up with a solution for his problem. If he cannot make a bunshin, then he will never pass."

The Hokage looked at Iruka then down to the young blond with sadness. He should have known that Naruto would have trouble with the bunshin concerning amount of chakra he had. He knew that the Kyuubi affected its host by expand into their coils and that Naruto was an Uzumaki, meaning he had more chakra then most jounin. The Hokage wished that he could have helped sooner but he had little time for anything other than paperwork lately. The Sandaime had been run rugged by the council so he has had little time to spend with his family or Naruto. Perhaps he could make this up to him. He pulled out a sheet of blank paper and handed it to Naruto.

"Oi! Jiji what is this?"

"That is chakra paper Naruto-kun. I want you to put some of your chakra into it, alright?" Naruto nodded and pushed some (or alot due to his control) into the paper and it split into two halves very quickly before both sides became soaked in water. Naruto looked at the paper with confusion but both Iruka and the Hokage looked surprised by the fact that Naruto had two strong affinities. 'Water and wind huh, it seems he got an affinity from both of his parents.' The Hokage thought.

"What does that mean jiji?" The blond asked. He was confused why the paper did that and wondered if he did something wrong. "Naruto-kun, that means you have two affinities." "What's an affinity?" "An affinity means you have stronger control over those elements then others. You can control wind and water better than other elements." Naruto nodded dumbly, still trying to make sense of what his jiji just told him.

The Hokage pulled a scroll out from his desk and looked it over before handing it to Naruto. The blond looked at the scroll with confusion and excitement, wondering if it was a new jutsu or just another chakra control exercise. The Hokage turned his attention to the chunin.

"Thank you for bringing this up to my attention Iruka. I wished that I had noticed before but I am thankful that this can be fixed before the next test. Now Naruto, don't open that until you get home. In that scroll is a technique that will help you with the next academy test. I expect you to pass now that you won't have anything holding you back. I know that you may not like to written portions, but do study this time. Now take this scroll home and learn how to use it. After you finish learning from it, please bring it back to me. Now both of you should head home. I still have paperwork to do so I will be busy, and you should too Naruto by getting ready for the next test."

"Sure Jiji, I'll make sure I'm ready then I can finally pass the genin test. After that I can become Hokage!" Naruto screamed as he ran out the door. Iruka was about to follow him but was stopped when the Hokage asked him to stay.

"Iruka, I'm very happy that you did not let your animosity towards the Kyuubi affect how you treated Naruto. I will make sure to remember this in the future. I also recommend that you watch over Naruto while he is testing as I have come across one of his tests that had a genjutsu put on it, and I know Naruto could not have sensed it. I always feared that there were teachers that had animosity towards him but I could do little to stop it. Just dispel any genjutsu and uncover any attempt that would make Naruto fail. Now please head home. And Thank you."

Iruka nodded. He didn't know what to think as he walked out of the Hokage's office. Was Naruto really being sabotaged. That would explain why he wouldn't try anymore if he knew he was going to fail anyway. He would have to sleep on this and be prepared for any mess ups in the future.

(line break)

Naruto ran all the way home and slammed the door behind himself then opened up the scroll to see what jiji gave him to help with the bunshin. He unrolled to scroll to see instructions and different hand-signs necessary to use it. He wonder what was all used for, then noticed at the top there was a title for the technique.

'Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu'

Naruto's eyes widened at the new jutsu's name before his face changed to anger. "Is this some kind of joke! Another clone technique!? What game are playing jiji?!"

(End Chapter)

Hah. I know this idea has been used but I'm giving it my all. Tell me what you think and review.

This is my second fic so I will try to update often.

Thanks for reading.

'Mizu Bunshin No Justu: Water Clone Technique


	2. Chapter 2: Genin Exam

Woo Hoo! Another Chapter! This is a fun story to write so please tell me what you think and if you have any recommendations.

Please review and follow.

*I do not own Naruto or any of it's Characters*

Chapter 2:

Naruto spent the last week preparing for his final academy test. He even studied his books no matter how much he hated it. He practiced his throwing and taijutsu too! He didn't want to let his jiji down. Jiji told him that he was expecting him to graduate and he promised the old man he would pass. Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his promises!

The books were boring and seemed to drag on, but he noticed as he read, it seemed to get easier and easier. Before he knew it, he got through Konoha History in two days! After that he tackled his other books and managed to get most of the material down that would be needed for the tests. Even after getting through all the books, he still hated reading!

Despite the fact that all he got was another Bunshin technique, Naruto worked on it for some time and managed to create several clones without them looking dead. He could even touch them! That meant that they could fight! How cool is that!?

Now he knew he could pass! He could pull off a henge, do a kiwarimi and create Mizu Bunshin. While it was not the regular Bunshin required to pass, his jiji told him he could pass with it. Now he just had to do well in the written part and the weapons test, which he always failed at.

But it wasn't his fault! The kunai and shuriken given to him were always bent or rusty, meaning they didn't fly right. He wanted to bring his own but it was against the rules because you could use specialty weapons to correct yourself during flight, which was cheating. That meant nobody was allowed to use weapons for tests other then the ones they gave you, and they always gave him the crappy ones.

But this year will be different! Iruka told him that he would make sure nobody messed up his test so he could finally graduate. After that he was just a skip, hop and jump away from being Hokage!

(line break)

Naruto walked into the academy with a bright smile on his face. He was prepared to pass and he knew that nothing could hold him down now. Maybe Sakura-chan would finally go on a date with him and stay away from Sasuke-teme.

He strolled into the class and looked around for a moment before he finally spotted Sakura-chan. He walked up to her and Ino who were fighting about Sasuke-teme and decided to ask before the test started.

"Hey Sakura-chan, after the academy test do you want to go on a date with me?" Sakura turned her attention to Naruto who was standing behind her and looked at him with disgust. Then she hit him over the head with a giant bash, leaving him on the floor with a large bump on his head. "No way Naruto-baka! I'll never go on a date with a loser."

Naruto got up from the ground with the smile still on his face and tried again. "But I won't be a loser soon. I'll finally pass the test! After that you can go on a date with me!" Sakura looked ready to hit Naruto a second time, but Ino as if her and Sakura were friends again decided to bring in her opinion on the situation." Naruto-baka you've failed the academy test more than anyone! What makes you think you can do it this time." Now Ino and Sakura stood shoulder to shoulder as if they were no longer love rivals, just so they could insult Naruto together. In the back of the class, a lazy Nara was muttering about confusing and troublesome women

"But I studied and now I can do the Bunshin no Jutsu. Just you wait! I'll be walking out of here with a Hitai-ate on my forehead." Naruto declared while pointing to his chest with confidence. "Yeah right. A dobe will always be a dobe. You'll never pass Naruto." Naruto turned around to see Sasuke walking down the steps into the Academy. At that moment Sakura and Ino swooned before going back to fighting for Sasuke's love and insulting each other. Naruto looked at Sasuke with anger and pointed to the duck haired emo. "Just you wait Teme! I'll be a genin and then I'll finally become Hokage! Believe It!" Sasuke was going to say something back but was cut off when Iruka entered the room.

"Alright everyone. Today is the genin exam. I want you all to be prepared and ready to take the next step in your lives. Being a genin is not an easy job but..." Iruka noticed that alot of his students were still not listening and a tic appeared on his forehead. "YOU BRATS BETTER GET IN YOUR SEATS BEFORE I MARK YOU ALL AS FAILED! NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" This seemed to get their attention because all the students stumbled to their seats and sat down. Many looked with determination as they wanted to become genin, but others looked bored like Shino and Shikamaru. Iruka cleared his throat and handed the tests to Mizuki so he could hand out the written portion. "Alright. Now this portion of the test takes one hour, once I tell you and you have received your test, you may begin. They are face down and you can flip them when I say start. Cheating will mark you as a failure and you will be escorted out." All the tests were passed out but for some reason Mizuki spent a longer period of time grabbing Naruto's test out. Iruka ignored it for now and focused on the task at hand. Mizuki passed all the tests out and stood off to the side of the class. Iruka waited a moment and set the timer for one hour. "Now Begin!"

And with that there was a rustle of tests being flipped over and pencil scratching against paper. Iruka watched as all his students worked diligently on the test except a few who looked like they didn't study or a certain lazy Nara who fell right asleep. Iruka couldn't do anything to Shikamaru that would actually make him take the test so he simply sighed in defeat.

Iruka continued to look around until he noticed that Naruto was having alot of trouble judging by the way he looked. He knew that Naruto studied and that he should do fine on the test, but the blond looked so frustrated. Iruka decided to do a walk around on the students to 'see how well they are doing'. As he passed some students, he noticed that many were doing well and that some even finished the test already, like Sasuke and Sakura. The timer just passed the quarter point of the time limit! Then again, they had been studying the material for years so they easily breezed through it. When he reached Naruto, he noticed that there was a genjutsu placed on his student's test! So that meant the Hokage's warning was not unwarranted. He discreetly released the genjutsu with a whispered 'kai' and kept walking around.

Naruto was having a hard time. None of the crap on the test was stuff he studied. The questions were really difficult and he couldn't come up with an answer for any of them. The quarter mark of the test hit and he felt like he was gonna fail again, just like last year. He studied so hard and he was still gonna fail! It was unfair! Just when he felt like his hope was lost, he noticed that the questions on the test changed. Now they were much easier and were based on the material he studied. He wondered what just happened then he realized that someone used a genjutsu on him! He could never detect those and it seems someone used that against him again! It was just like all the other years! But at least this time, someone helped him so he could pass. Naruto looked up from his test to see that Iruka was back at the front of the classroom. The chunin looked up to Naruto and gave a quick wink before looking at something else.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. He could do this! Now he could finally pass the genin exam without being tricked or sabotaged!

(line break)

After Iruka released the genjutsu, Naruto was able to get through most of the questions with almost no problems and finished the test two minutes before the timer ended. After the test were collected by Iruka, the class was led outside to the training ground for the taijutsu and throwing portions of the test.

Iruka started calling names for the taijutsu portion to fight against Mizuki so they could determine how skilled the students were. They would fight in a ring vs the chunin and had to stay in as long as possible. Mizuki would be going easy on them so it would not be impossible for them to do this part of the students needed to last at least three minutes to get a good grade. If they managed to get hits on the chunin while defending themselves, then they earned extra points. Iruka went through each student one by one, some doing better then others

Most of the students varied between getting hit early and not getting a good time or trying to hit the chunin for extra points and getting knocked out of the ring.

Ino and Sakura barely managed to stay in the ring for the required time, though Sakura stayed alittle bit longer.

Hinata stayed in for her needed time and a minute more but was too nervous to try to hit Mizuki.

Choji got knocked out about 30 seconds before time was up.

Shikamaru got the required time and forfeited right after, leaving many to sweatdrop at the Nara's laziness.

Kiba went in recklessly and got kicked out a minute in, but also got two hits on Mizuki.

Shino simply defended himself and stayed in for the time and an extra half minute after that.

Sasuke went near last and stayed two minutes pass the time limit as well as getting three hits on the chunin. He walked off smirking and mouthed 'dobe' to Naruto before being swarmed by his worshipers. This only angered Naruto but he didn't have the chance to start anything because Iruka called him up to fight. Naruto walked up to the ring and looked up to Mizuki, who looked at him with a cold smile. Naruto didn't know why, but that way that Mizuki looked at him gave him a bad feeling.

He got in his sloppy defensive stance and prepared himself for the fight. He knew that he could pass! All he had to do was get through this, the throwing portion and the bunshin, then he was a Ninja! He was so caught up his thoughts that he didn't here Iruka begin the fight and if not for his instincts then he would have had a fist hit him straight in the face.

Mizuki charged right in with an attack hoping to finish the fight quickly but Naruto reacted and dodged the attack. Naruto rolled over his shoulder and went for an attack but Mizuki sidestepped him and kicked him hard in his right side. He was pushed to the far edge of the floor and felt like all the wind was knocked out of him. He knew that if he was kicked out early then he would fail so he pushed himself and charged against Mizuki again and attacked ferociously, hoping to take the chunin by surprise. It seemed to work as he got a hit on him, but was also knocked away with a punch to the gut. Naruto didn't have time to recover as the white haired chunin charged at him with the intent to knock him out of the ring again. Naruto got up and started blocking the incoming hits but the chunin was too fast for him and he was quickly losing ground. He was nearing the edge of the ring so he decided to try something else. He duck and slid under the chunin's legs and kicked up to the chunin's groin. Mizuki released a high pitched scream at the sudden unexpected attack to his nether-regions. You could hear the collection of gasps and winces at Naruto's dirty deed, and some boys even covered their own crotches in response. Naruto got out from under the chunin and couldn't help but laugh at Mizuki's face. Iruka couldn't help but let a small smile creep up on his face as well at the situation his fellow chunin was in but he quickly covered it.

Mizuki cupped his now squashed balls in pain and let a single tear fall from his face before turning to the blond laughing at his expense and looking at him with hatred. He charged at the blond and kicked him out of the ring before the boy had the chance to prepare himself. Naruto flew out and the timer was stopped. Iruka called the match and wrote down Naruto's score.

Naruto managed a time of two minutes and nine seconds with two hits. While it was not a perfect score but it was still much better than many of the other students did. That brought the blond to an average score because the extra points he received.

Iruka smiled at the score while also contemplating what happened in the ring. Naruto did well but Mizuki seemed to try much harder to knock Naruto out then any other student. Then there was the fact that Naruto's test had a genjutsu on it. It could not have been on Naruto's test before he gave them to Mizuki, so perhaps his fellow chunin was the one trying to make Naruto fail. While he had no concrete proof, he would make sure to watch his white haired assistants for the rest of the exam. Maybe he should report his findings to the Hokage after the exam.

(line break)

The academy students all walked back into class to finish the final portion of the genin exam. Naruto and the rest of the class just finished the throwing test and he was very happy. He was handed shuriken and kunai that weren't bent or rusted by Iruka so he did much better then usual. He missed few but he got a couple of bulleyes too! While it wasn't a great score, it was much better then usual. Now all he had to do was get through the bunshin and he passed!

He watched as student by student went down to finish the exam. While some came back with headbands and smiles, others didn't and had sadder expressions. Naruto saw Sasuke get called and he saw the duck butt emo turn to him and mouth 'dobe' again before walking in.

While Naruto wanted to run in and insult Sasuke back he knew he was not allowed in during another person's test, so he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Then a stroke of realization struck him. Naruto smiled and now saw that the best way to prove the teme wrong was by coming out a Ninja and passing the exam! Maybe after that Sakura-chan would go out with him!

"Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka called out to the top row of desks. Sasuke already finished and was back in his seat with a smirk plastered on his face. Naruto hopped up from his chair and headed down to the testing room. Now was his chance! He studied endlessly on the new bunshin jutsu so he felt confident and ready. He saw Sasuke mouthing the 'dobe' to him again. Naruto got mad, but instead of charging at the duck butt, he stuck his tongue out and continued into the test room.

Naruto walked in to the small room and saw Iruka and Mizuki waiting there for him. He smiled at the scarred chunin but was wary of Mizuki. He seemed to be looking at him with a smile but there was something hiding underneath it, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Alright Naruto, can you please do a Henge no Jutsu?" Iruka asked while giving him a look of 'don't do anything stupid'. As much as he wanted to, he knew not to do the Oiroke no Jutsu again. So he smiled and decided to try something new. Naruto went through his hand signs and screamed out:

"Henge no Jutsu." A puff of smoke enveloped the young blond. After a moment of silence the smoke cleared to reveal a spandex wearing man with large eyebrows, a vest, leg warmers and a bowl shaped hairdo. Both chunins looked at the henge in fear, wondering if Naruto did a Kiwarimi instead of the Henge.

"Yosh! Now come with me young chunins as we explore the power of springtime Youth!" The man said while flashing a blinding smile at the two.

(line break)

Elsewhere in Konoha:

A spandex wearing man with large eyebrows suddenly sneezed in the middle of team warmups

"Gai-sensei, are you alright!" A mini-me version of the spandex wearing man said.

"I'm alright Lee! Perhaps there is a person talking about me or the power of youth in our wonderful village!"

"Yosh! The power of youth shall triumph over all!" The two green spandex wearers then ran and embraced each other in a hug.

"Oh Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

A genjutsu like no other seemed to form behind the hugging duo in what looked like a sunset with waves crashing upon a beach. Everyone in the vicinity looked away, including the other two team-members, in fear of going blind. The same thought went through the minds of the Hyuuga and bun haired girl:

'Why can't we have a normal sensei?'

(line break)

Having enough of the joke Iruka got himself out of his shock and decided to speak up.

"That's enough Naruto. Good job on your henge not only in matching the look but also in personality. Now please change back." The Henge of Gai poofed yet again to reveal a smiling Naruto. Iruka had a small smile on his face but Mizuki looked less than comfortable.

"Alright, now we need to see Bunshin no Justu. Can you do that for us?" Mizuki smiled sinisterly at this information. The demon needed to do a bunshin to pass so he could still use him despite doing so well in the other parts of the test. He watched as the blond nodded and prepared himself for the Bunshin. He knew he could not create a bunshin and all he had to do was wait. Sadly he was not prepared for what happened next. Mizuki watched as the blond went through handsigns that did not match the Bunshin no Jutsu then the brat screamed out "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a poof of smoke revealing 2 clones that looked exactly like Naruto in every shape and form with no deformities and problems. The whiskered blond jumped in joy and Iruka smiled at his student's excitement. Mizuki seemed too shocked to do anything other than have a blank face with no expression. The two clones then dissipated into water, which only seemed to surprise the white haired chunin more.

"Congratulations Naruto! You have passed the Genin Exam! I now proudly bestow upon you your Hitai-ate as a genin of Konohagakure!" Iruka placed a headband with blue fabric and a metal headplate in the blond's hands. " Now you need to remember that as a genin..." Naruto tuned out everything after he looked at his new shiny hitai-ate with glee. He had finally passed the genin exam! After failing so many times he had done it!

Naruto ran out of the testing room in happiness ready to show everyone that he passed and maybe get a date with a certain pink haired kunoichi, then he would run to the Hokage's office to celebrate with his jiji by eating ramen!

Naruto dashed out of the room leaving Iruka with a smile on his face and a mentally seething Mizuki who was now plotting how to get the scroll of sealing.

"Well... we still have a few more students to tests. Come on Mizuki, please go get the next student." Mizuki seemed to hear Iruka's words and did what he was asked but he didn't respond, only walked out of the testing room to get the next student with a blank but dangerous look on his face.

Iruka knew what that face meant right from the start. He had experienced how people dealt with emotions by hiding them and he could read those people pretty well. Mizuki was plotting something and it was probably not something good. Iruka just hoped that it didn't involve Naruto getting hurt. Mizuki probably blamed the boy for the Kyuubi attack and was sabotaging him. From the genjutsu on the test, to using alot of force against the blond, to almost giving Naruto bent kunai. The white haired chunin had it out for the blond today and definitely had some aggression towards him for giving Naruto working shuriken and kunai earlier in the day. This last transgression basically cemented his belief that Mizuki didn't want Naruto to pass. 'Yes, I'll definitely have to report all this to Hokage-sama' the scarred chunin thought before preparing to for the next student.

(End Chapter 2)

I added alittle more fun into this chapter. What do you guys think of the Gai cameo? Let me know and thanks for reading. The next chapter is most likely about the scroll of sealing.

Please review and follow the story. Bye!


	3. Chapter 3: Discovery

Another Chapter! I have been updating this story when I can. As a high school student getting ready for college and playing drums in the percussion, I don't have much time to write.

Please comment on the new chapter and tell me what you think.

*I don't own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 3:

Most of the students thought that Naruto failed yet again and that he would walk out without a headband any minute. Sasuke stayed around to wait for the dobe so he could rub his hitai-ate in the blond's face and Sakura and Ino stayed because Sasuke did. There were several who thought that Naruto would pass this time but most were ready to insult him if he came out after another exam without becoming a genin.

Naruto ran out of the testing room with a big smile on his face and many people realized what that meant. Naruto held up the new Hitai-ate with pride and gave the class a foxy smile before going back to his seat. As he walked he noticed that some looked with surprise or shock. The class clown, the loser, the dead last, the dobe actually passed the genin exam! They all knew that he couldn't make a clone a week ago so what changed? Sasuke was prepared to find out.

Naruto was so happy! He finally became a ninja! Now Sakura-chan would definitely go out with him. He had been trying to get her attention for years and now that he passed he could show her he's not a loser. He would ask after school because she was still next to the teme and he didn't want the bastard to ruin his good mood and get in a fight... not yet at least. When Naruto got back to his seat next to the lazy Nara, it seemed he was not asleep and looked at Naruto, more specifically the new headband that he held. "So you finally passed huh? I wondered when you would do it, but I kinda want to know how you did the bunshin. You never do it right and you can't pass without doing it. What changed?" Naruto got alittle nervous and didn't know how to respond to Shikamaru's suspicions. "Well um...you see...uhh..."

Naruto wanted to tell him. Heck he wanted to tell everyone, but he knew that he shouldn't because jiji gave him the scroll and people would say he cheated or that the Hokage favored him.

"Oi! Dobe, how did you pass?" There was the voice of the precious Uchiha Sasuke. Of course Sasuke would try to get into his business. He had been rivals with him for years so the emo would want to know how he got through the test. Naruto turned around to see Sasuke standing there with a scowl on his face and flanked by Ino and Sakura on each side.

"Go away teme! I'm not telling you." Naruto got up from his seat to stand up to Sasuke but was hit in the head by Sakura's fist.

"Naruto-baka! Don't call Sasuke-kun names and tell him how you passed!" Her voice got alot of people's attention because of the high pitched tone, and it caused many to cover their ears and for Shikamaru to do the same while muttering about troublesome women.

"But Sakura-chan I can't tell you." Naruto strained but Sasuke and his fangirls didn't like that answer. "Oh and why can't you tell us Naruto-baka?! Did you cheat to get you hitai-ate?"

"Of course not! I earned this fair and square!" Sasuke and the girls were not convinced judging by the way they looked. Luckily Naruto confrontation with the duck butt squad was cut short when Iruka came out from the testing room.

"Alright everyone! Settle down!" Iruka was ready to use his big head jutsu again but it seemed that they listened this time and got in their seats, although a few like Sasuke didn't seem to happy about it. " I would like to make an announcement. First off, Congratulations! All of those who have passed the genin exam are on their way to becoming great ninjas for Konohagakure. I wish all of you the best luck. Make sure to come to class tomorrow so you can be assigned your jounin senseis. For those of you who did not pass, I know you can do better next time and I wish you all the best of luck in the upcoming year. Results will be posted for class rating on the board tomorrow morning. Now have a great day and I will see you tomorrow!" And with that Iruka finished and many students went home happy that they passed, but there were a few who did not but had determination to pass the next exam.

Naruto hopped out of his chair and made a run for it before the teme could find him. He had to show jiji that he passed! He worked hard and now he finally made it! He was a ninja of Konoha and now he could start gaining the respect of the villagers and become Hokage! Naruto ran through the streets in a mad dash to see jiji and passed through several districts full of people that didn't like him. While most didn't noticed and sneered as he passed by, some saw that he wore a ninja headband and realized that the demon was now a ninja. That meant he was under the full protection of the Hokage and ninja forces and was no longer under civilian rule. Now he could defend himself if they tried anything and that made a few people wary of trying anything on the blond jinchuuriki.

(line break)

Naruto made it to the Hokage tower and ran through the door despite the assistant yelling at him not to. He opened the door to see jiji sitting beside a stack of paperwork and the jostling of him coming in toppled it all over, burying the Hokage in a giant pile of paperwork. He laughed at the old man as he got out from the piles of paperwork. "Naruto-kun, while you may not have the best entrance, I'm happy to see you." The Hokage said as he got the last of the paperwork off his robes. "I Passed Jiji! I got a head band! Now I'm finally a ninja!" Naruto's excitement was infectious as the Sandaime smiled and walked up to Naruto to ruffle his spike blond hair.

"I'm very proud of you Naruto-kun. It looks like your studying paid off. You are now under the command of the Hokage and you have certain privileges now but also some changes. Now that you are considered an adult, you stop receiving an orphan stipend and any attack you make on civilians outside self defense are considered more serious now. But you also can make money through missions and receive income, you are now an adult so you can drink smoke and do anything an adult can do but I don't want you to do any of those things until you're older. Do you understand so far?" Naruto nodded so the Hokage continued.

"You are under my command so civilians and their council have no say in your life and you will be getting a team sensei tomorrow with two other students. I will also need you to return that scroll when you have the chance so it is in better protection." the Hokage smiled and gave the blond a pat on the head. "With all that said, I'm very proud of you. I'm sure that you are hungry so lets go get some ramen to celebrate."

He didn't need to tell Naruto twice as the boy ran out of the paper covered office thinking of his favorite meal. The Hokage slowly shook his head and followed with a smile, not just because Naruto passing, but that he now had an excuse to get away from the paperwork for an hour.

(line break)

Naruto returned to his apartment full a full stomach and a smile across his face. This was the best day ever! He passed the genin test, got his headband and celebrated with jiji while eating ramen! Jiji finished with him then said he had a meeting with some council members about the new genins so he had to leave. But before they parted ways jiji gave him a gift card to a ninja outfit store only ninja were allow to go to! He was so happy he felt like he could scream it from the top of the Hokage Mountain. He reached his door and noticed there was a note stuck to it with a kunai. He would normally think that it was probably the landlord trying to get him to pay early for no reason but the kunai meant it was probably a ninja. He grabbed the note from his door and began reading it.

'Dear Naruto,

I need to see you at training ground 76. I have a mission for you and I know only you can do it. Please head over at 6:00 pm.

Unimo Iruka'

Naruto was confused. Naruto noticed the writing seemed strange because Iruka usually writes neater than this. Maybe he was in a hurry about this so called mission. What mission was Iruka-sensei talking about? And why didn't he tell him after he finished his test? Did he leave too fast? Naruto was confused and looked at the clock to see that it was 5:27, so he decided to head to the training ground early and see what was going on.

Naruto got to the training ground twenty minutes early and decided to look around for a few to see what was going on. After a couple minutes of looking around, he heard shouting and the clashing of metal. He immediately ran to where it was coming from. Was this the mission Iruka was talking about?

Naruto jumped through the surrounding trees of the training ground and came upon a kunai. He went to pick it up and noticed the smell of iron. Blood. And it was fresh. Naruto freaked out. What was going on!? His thoughts were cut off when he heard more clashing and instead of running away, he pressed forward to an open area in the trees. When he got there there were two people fighting each other, one wielding a giant shuriken. Then he got a look at there faces and saw that it was his teachers. Mizuki and Iruka were fighting!? But why!? While he trusted Iruka more, he didn't know why they were fighting and got closer so he could listen to what was going on.

"How could you steal the scroll of sealing Mizuki! You would betray Konoha, Your home! For what, power?"

"You wouldn't understand Iruka. You're just the goody two shoes chunin who follows all his orders like a dog! You even let the demon pass the genin exam!"

"You leave Naruto out of this! He is not a demon, and is innocent." Mizuki then cackled maniacally and gave Iruka a sinister smile.

"Oh, the brat won't be innocent for long." Iruka wonder if Mizuki actually did something or if he was trying to throw him off his concentration.

"What did you do Mizuki?" The white haired chunin's smile widened.

"I put a note on the brat's door with your handwriting. He'll be showing up later, only to find himself surrounded by ANBU and you dead on the ground. He'll be charged with your death and I get away. I kill two birds with one stone! He will be useful for something and I will get my revenge. Then I can escape Konoha and follow my true master!" With that, Mizuki charged at Iruka again with the intent to finish it but the scarred chunin defended himself from the attacks. As the battle progressed though, Iruka slowly lost ground and was losing steam.

Naruto heard the whole thing. He was being used by Mizuki, who apparently stole a scroll of some sort and planned to pin Iruka's death on him! Naruto was outraged at the deceit but also couldn't help but wonder why Mizuki hated him so much. He pushed that thought away and saw that Iruka was losing and if he didn't do anything, Iruka could get hurt! Or worse, die! Naruto knew he needed to do something so he put his best foot forward and stepped out from his hiding spot in the trees.

"Oi!" Both chunins stopped fighting and looked at the now exposed blond, one looking with worry, the other with anger.

"I heard the whole thing! If you think you can use me to win, then you got another thing coming Mizuki-teme!" Naruto was about to go through some handsigns but Mizuki jumped back from Iruka and faced Naruto with a sinister smile on his face.

"So you'll beat me huh brat? I find that hilarious! But before you start, I have to ask... do you know why everyone hates you and why everyone sneers at you or treats you like you're nothing?" Naruto froze and his hands went down to his sides as he looked at Mizuki with shock. He knew why? Why everyone treated him like a monster. He wanted to tell Mizuki-teme to shut up... but at the same time wanted to hear it.

"No Mizuki! It's forbidden!" Iruka warned but was ignored.

"The reason everyone hates you is because you're a monster! The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside you! You killed thousands of people the night it attacked! You're the Kyuubi no Yoko and you're a freak that destroys everything! Now I'll rid the world of you and be seen as a hero, even as a traitor!" Mizuki grabbed his giant shuriken and threw it at the blond boy who was in shock from the information and hasn't moved a single inch. His eyes went blank and he seemed to be stuck in thought about Mizuki's words.

Was he really the Kyuubi? Was he a monster that killed people and hurt so many others? He didn't want to believe it but the way everyone treated him, it was hard not to. He was knocked out of his thoughts when he realized that someone was standing over him. Still half dazed, Naruto looked up to see the face of Iruka, who protected him from the giant shuriken thrown by Mizuki as it was now lodged in his back. Naruto then realized what was going on and looked up to his sensei in shock. "Naruto... I never saw you as a monster...You're not the Kyuubi no Yoko." Iruka smiled at the blond." I lost my parents because of the Kyuubi but I never blamed you for it. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you are a genin of the leaf village. You are not a freak!" With that Naruto fully recovered from his shock and quickly felt several emotions.

Anger at Mizuki for hurting Iruka.

Worry that Iruka could die.

Happiness for what Iruka said to him.

And determination in finishing the fight with the traitor.

Naruto jumped over Iruka who turned around to look at him with shock. "Just relax Iruka-sensei. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I promise that you will get out of here alive! I'll make sure Mizuki get's what's coming to him!" Naruto then turned his attention to the white haired chunin that looked at him with anger.

"You expect me to believe you can beat me? You're the dead last loser that should have never passed. Just because you can make a few water clones doesn't mean anything!"

"Oh yeah, then how about this!" Naruto went through hand signs and pumped a large amount of chakra into his technique and screamed "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Mizuki and Iruka were suddenly surrounded by hundreds of clones that all looked like Naruto. The clones all had foxy smirks on their faces and looked ready to beat the crap out of a certain chunin. Said chunin could only gulp and be prepared for what happened next...

(line break)

Mizuki laid on the floor beaten black and blue when the ANBU appeared and collected the sealing scroll from behind a tree it was placed at, then escorted Naruto and Iruka to the Hokage, but not before getting a medic nin to look at the young scarred chunin's injuries. Now standing before the Hokage, Iruka gave his side of what happened and then Naruto did the same. The Hokage seemed quite surprised that Naruto was able to summon so many water clones but hid his emotions and let the two finish their stories. The blond had some questions of his own and decided to voice them.

"Mizuki said I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko because the fourth sealed it inside me... is that true?" The Hokage looked at the young blond with surprise and sadness. He did not want to reveal Naruto's burden until he was chunin but the boy heard it early and he supposed hiding the truth would only hurt Naruto more.

"Naruto-kun... yes the Kyuubi was sealed into you. But do not think that makes you the beast itself. You are the holder, the jailer of it. You are a jinchuuriki." The Hokage saw that Naruto still did not look convinced so he thought that he could explain it in a way that Naruto would understand.

"Naruto-kun, lets say you you are a bowl and the Kyuubi is the ramen. Would that bowl turn into ramen because it holds it?"

"Of course not jiji! It's still just a bowl!" Naruto smiled and finally understood what jiji meant. He may not like that he held a dangerous creature, but he was not the Kyuubi, only a holder for it. A container.

"I'm glad you understand Naruto." Naruto thought about a few hings and realized he had one more question. "Why me?... Why did the Fourth choose me?"

"Naruto-kun, the Yondaime knew that nobody would let him use their child for it and since you were a newborn orphan, he decided you were the best option in saving the village. He wanted you to be seen as a hero for the burden you carry, but sadly many people do not see that. The Yondaime chose you because he believed you could save the leaf village. Do you understand, Naruto-kun?" The Hokage said with respect towards his deceased successor.

Naruto looked at jiji with wide eyes then turned his head to look out the Hokage's office window to see the Hokage Monument, more specifically the Yondaime Hokage. Naruto smiled and turned back to his jiji and smiled then nodded. The aged Hokage smiled.

"Thank you for understanding what happened Naruto. I'll be reporting your defeat of Mizuki and you will recieve a B rank pay because of it. Now you should head to bed. I believe that teams are chosen tomorrow and you don't want to be late." With that Naruto smiled at the prospect of getting some money and smiled.

"Thank's jiji. I'll see you later! Bye Iruka-sensei! See you tomorrow morning. Hope your arm and back heals up." Naruto ran out of the room and headed home, prepared for tomorrow to meet his new team.

"Iruka, please tell me, is it true Naruto summoned hundreds of Mizu Bunshin at once?" Iruka nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. He summoned hundreds and the proceeded to beat Mizuki into submission until the ANBU arrived."

"Thank you Iruka. You may head home, but I recommend you check your injuries with a hospital medic." The chunin nodded and shunshined out of the room.

The Hokage leanded back into his chair, thinking about the abilities the whiskered blond had. Naruto could summon hundreds of water clones no problem without a water source nearby. While most could summon a few without a water source, to summon hundreds meant you needed supreme control over water! Naruto not only had a large amount of chakra and endurance, but also had water control that rivaled the Nidaime!

'You are definitely unpredictable, Naruto-kun. You will be an amazing ninja in the future.' The Hokage thought before turning in for he night.

Omake:

Naruto ran into the Hokage's office and opened the door to see the old man buried in a pile of strange books. He got closer and noticed that books had scantily drawn women on them and were titled 'Icha Icha Paradise'. He noticed that his jiji was out cold and opened one of the books to see what it was about.

After reading for a few minutes, he had a massive blush on his face and set the book down. He was about to try to wake jiji up until a brilliant prank began forming in his mind. Naruto smirked and prepared to summon some clones to help for what was going to happen next.

Hokage woke up with a terrible headache. He dreamt that the seal that held all his Icha Icha overloaded and they all came out and knocked him out from the sheer weight. He sighed in relief when he realized that he was not under a pile of porn books.

He sat back in his desk but noticed something in the corner of his eye outside the window and looked towards Hokage Monument. He saw papers floating down from the mountain. One coasted through his window and landed on his desk. He read what was on it and his eyes widened with fear.

He checked his Icha seal and found that it was empty. The gravity of what was going on was now settling on his shoulders.

Hundreds of thousands of pages from the Icha Icha books flew down from the Hokage mountain into the village. Many wondered what was going on...until they read the papers and freaked out. Some ran and tried to protect their children's innocence, others ran around trying to grab as many of the forbidden papers as possible. Some cried in horror and others in joy. The entire village was in pandemonium about the porn flying from the sky.

A silver haired jounin looked up from his own book to see the rain of porn. After reading what was falling, he instantly started crying and went on about his dream coming true.

Sasuke was in his home when the papers came down and he wondered what they could possibly be. After reading a few pages, Sasuke had blood dripping down his nose and a perverted smile on his face. Lets just say... Sasuke had a new addiction.

Hinata saw the papers and picked one up, only to fall unconscious from a bloody nose the next second after reading the first sentence.

Two green spandex wearers were training in the fields alongside a pale eyed Hyuuga and a bun haired girl. They were stopped from their spars when they saw a paper fall on the ground nearby. Lee picked it up and looked at the strange position the two were drawn characters were in. It was called 'the missionary' and Lee knew what it was instantly. It was a holding position for combat!

"Gai-sensei, I have found a new position that can be used holding down your enemy. Shall I demonstrate it with you!?"

"Of course Lee! Anything you would like to show me is much appreciated! Now show me what this 'position' is."

The image of Gai and Lee in a sex position would be stuck in Neji's and Tenten's minds forever.

((End Chapter 3))

What do you think of the chapter and omake. I tried to be original and come up with new points for the story so tell me what you think.

The next chapter is Naruto's new team. Let's find out who he ends up with.

Please review and follow.


	4. Chapter 4: Team 8

Another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy. I got some complains about Naruto's crush so I have already worked on that. There will be bashing of Sakura and Sasuke to forewarn you.

Enjoy and please Review and Favorite/Follow.

Chapter 4:

It was 6:00 in the morning. The sun was just rising in Konoha, passing through the thick layers of trees that surrounded the village. The Hokage tower was filled with different jounins, all hoping to get a team to lead as a sensei. The job of a jounin sensei was important to the village. They were in charge of ensuring the next generation of ninja for Konoha were ready. These genin needed to be taught how to be ninja, and many wanted to have the opportunity to help them.

Sadly, not so many teams passed each year, so only a few teams were ever running at one time and that meant there were less spots for jounin-senseis. Many wanted to be trainers so to give their knowledge to potentially the next heroes of the leaf. Others were less enthusiastic and it showed on their faces, such as Sarutobi Asuma who seemed laid back.

He wanted a team, yes, but he wasn't going crazy about it or internally jumping with glee like many of the other jounin were. He came back because his father, the Hokage asked him to come back and take a team. While he wanted to say no, he knew he should patch things up with him old man before he kicked the bucket and thought it was time to come back home from the fire temple, so he relented. He also wanted to get the attention of a certain red eyed, raven haired jounin.

The jounins in the room got quiet when the Hokage entered. The aged Hokage walked with his skill on his shoulder despite his frailty and sat in his chair, looking at the group of jounins in the room.

"Good morning everyone! I'm happy to see so many jounins prepared to teach our next generation. Your job is the most important duty to the village, as the next generations of ninja define what Konohagakure is and what it will. They will need guidance. You are the teachers of Konoha's future, and don't ever forget it." The Hokage said with pride and power.

The jounins all looked at the Hokage with respect and began thinking about what teams they would get. The Hokage could sense the excitement on them from a mile away and smiled.

"Now let us not waste time and get right to it, shall we? Team one shall be under Jiyu Netsu and is composed of..."

(line break)

All but two jounins left in the room went to get ready to meet their students later on. Now only Yuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma remained. Both wondered what was going on and why they had not gotten their teams yet. Did they run out of students and now not have teams? The Hokage just sat there and waited patiently, doing paperwork as he waited for some reason. Just when Asuma was going to speak out, a puff of smoke appeared in the room and the two jounins got in defensive stances. Fortunately, the assailant revealed to be a man with a face mask, a hitai-ate covering his eye, and gravity defying silver hair. Knowing who it was, the two relaxed but weren't happy about the man's tendency to being late.

The Hokage put a paper in the finished stack and looked up at the now three jounins in the room.

"Yo. I'm not late am I?"

"Yes, you are Kakashi, but that does not matter. I needed to speak with you three specifically about teams and those in them." The Hokage told them, causing all of them to wonder what he was talking about. Kurenai decided to voice their concern."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I requested Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba to form a tracking team. You agreed to this several weeks ago. What has caused you to reconsider changing the teams?"

The Hokage said nothing but dug into his desk and received a folder. He dropped the folder on his desk and began explaining.

"This is a folder containing the notes and recommendations from a teacher at the academy named Umino Iruka. He took the liberty of giving this to me after the genin exams when he brought some information to my attention." The Hokage opened the folder and began reading off from the list provided.

"Lets start off with team 8:

'Aburame Shino: Reserved and tending to stay on his own. He does well in class and is capable of doing very well at tracking and fighting at mid range.

Exam score: 93%  
Needs help in: Taijutsu

Attitude: Very protective of his bugs and tends to creep out other students with his abilities. He has a good heart but tends to be on his own. He is calm and makes decisions using logic.

Inuzuka Kiba: Headstrong individual who is stubborn and won't take no for an answer. He is an up close fighter and great with his Inuzuka techniques, along with Akamaru, his dog companion.

Exam score: 72%  
Needs help in: Genjutsu, Chakra control and ninjutsu

Attitude: Has an odd obsession over Hinata and tends to get in fights. He doesn't do any of the homework and tends to act brash and irresponsibly. He runs head first and thinks offensive over defensive. Needs a teacher that can straighten him out and get him away from harassing Hinata.

Hyuuga Hinata: Great student. Doesn't speak much and tends to shy away from conflict. She had amazing taijutsu quailities and has superb chakra control but gets demoralized easily.

Exam score: 90%  
Needs help in: Ninjutsu and throwing

Attitude: Shy and has no self confidence. Is uncomfortable with Kiba's advances and tends to become reclusive very quickly. She needs much help on self confidence.'

While I have no problem with the team, I fear Shino might scare Hinata, and Kiba would not leave her alone, as well as disturbing Shino. It could be fixed, but let me explain the rest of the remaining genins.

Next is team 10:

'Akimichi Choji: Like any Akimishi, he tends to eat alot, and hates the F word. He is a brawler and uses the expansion technique to a degree that fits his age.

Exam Score: 78%  
Needs help in: Taijutsu, throwing and Genjutsu

Attitude: He is shy to make new friends and gets bullied for his weight, especially by girls like Haruno Sakura and Ino Yamanaka. He is close friends with Shikamaru and has a good personality and is passive as long as you don't call him fat.

Nara Shikamaru: Lazy genius. Can complete the test easily and has a brilliant mind. Great tactician

Exam score: 73%  
Needs help in: Chakra capacity and taijutsu

Attitude: Lazy and unmotivated. Finds women troublesome and has a strong dislike to Ino and Sakura. Defends Choji when he can. Tends to sleep alot and doesn't like work. Recommend a teacher that will push and drive him to get a good work ethic.

Ino Yamanaka: Studious. Uses mind techniques to a average degree. Is brash and quick to anger.

Exam score: 85%  
Needs help in: chakra capacity, throwing, taijutsu, and ninjutsu

Attitude: Believes she will be the next 'Mrs. Uchiha' and spends much time gossiping and trying to get Sasuke's attention. She tends to boss anyone her own age around. She is a bully and tends to go after Choji, Shikamaru or Naruto. Recommend a teacher that will help her become a strong kunoichi and not a fangirl.'

This team would not be like their parent's Ino Shika Cho squad. It is clear Choji and Shikamaru get along fine but Ino would only belittle them and this would cause problems. The fact that Choji and Shikamaru already have friendship would further split the group apart.

And finally team 7:

'Haruno Sakura: Hard hitting student. Has maintained straight As in class. Has excellent chakra control.

Exam score: 94%  
Needs help in: taijutsu and chakra capacity

Attitude: Like Ino but worse. She fights with many people and belittles and attacks Naruto any chance she gets. She apparently devotes much of her morning looking good for her 'Sasuke-kun'. She is an extreme fangirl. Recommend a teacher that will show her what it means to be a kunoichi.

Uchiha Sasuke: Top of the class. Extremely skilled and is proficient in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Is an all around strong fighter and thinks cooly in rough positions.

Exam score: 100%  
Needs help in: humility

Attitude: Has the idea that the Uchiha are the elite and has an inflated ego because of the way people treat him. He belittles others and puts down students. Does not work well with others, especially Naruto. Has an obsession with power. Recommend a teacher to show him how to be a person aswell as a ninja of Konoha.

Uzumaki Naruto: Brash fighter. Very unpredictable and is quite proficient in trap making and stealth. Has a positive outlook but tends to jump into danger head first. Will be a strong ninja in the future.

Exam Score: 82%  
Needs help in: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, throwing and chakra control.

Attitude: Needs help in everything but is willing to do anything. He is not afraid of hard work and is much smarter then he lets on. He is a great person and is willing to put himself before others. Has problems with fangirls and Sasuke. Has a major crush on Haruno Sakura for some reason that continues to elude me. Recommend a teacher that can help with his control and temper.'

It is clear this team was doomed to fail. Sasuke and Naruto would fight constantly and Sakura would only add fuel to the fire. That and the fact that it would not the fit the system because Kiba is the lowest scoring this year, not Naruto. The top scoring boy and girl and the lowest scorer would be together. So we must re-adjust the teams.

Now how does that all sound to you?"

The jounins stood there in shock. They never realized how badly the teams would have turned out. It would have been chaos! Team 7 sounded like it wouldn't get passed it's first mission outside the village. Kakashi stepped forward, somewhat miffed that his team choice was destroyed, but hid it under his mask.

"What do you recommend, Hokage-sama?"

(line break)

Naruto woke up at 10:00 and jumped out of bed to get ready. It was the day he was going to get his team! He was so excited! Maybe he could be on a team with Sakura-chan. He could finally get to know her better, after all, she never gave him the time of day.

Naruto's mind suddenly began to question why he liked the pinkette, but he shook those thoughts away, he knew why he like her. She was pretty! While she could be mean, she just had to warm up to him and get away from the teme.

Naruto collected his stuff together and ran out the door towards the academy.

When he finally reached his classroom he was so excite he didn't notice a Nara in the door's entrance and ran headfirst into Shikamaru.

"Sorry Shikamaru."

"Troublesome blonds."

The two got up and walked to their seats, waiting for their new senseis along with everyone else. Naruto got impatient and decided to start a conversation.

"So, what do you think the teams will be like?"

"They'll probably be based off stupid stuff like the lowest with the two highest and I'll be dragged onto a team with Ino like our parents."

"What do you mean like your parents."

"*sigh*, Ino's dad, Choji's and mine were all part of a capture and interrogation team called InoShikaCho. They were a good team and I'm guessing that they want that team made again. It's all too troublesome."

Naruto nodded and started looking around the class for a while. He got bored and was going to get up and talk to Sakura until Iruka walked in holding a paper.

"Alright everyone, now settle down and-" most weren't listening and were chattering with each other so the chunin got angry decided to use some more drastic measures.

"YOU BRATS BETTER BE QUIET RIGHT NOW OR I WONT ASSIGN TEAMS!" This quickly got everyone's attention, as they all went and sat down in their chair in an instant, afraid of Iruka's bluff. Iruka cleared his throat and began again. "Now, the jounins will be coming in later on so for now, I have your test scores. I'll be posting them on the board so you can see how you did. You are free to come up and see your scores, even if you didn't pass." After finishing, Iruka pinned the scores to the board and walked away. There was a moment of silence before almost everyone jumped out of their seats to see their scores, Naruto included. So were filled with pride, others were angered or sad that they did poorly on certain portions. Naruto got to the board and looked at his score.

'Uzumaki Naruto:'

'Scores:  
Written 20%: 70% [16%]  
Taijutsu 35%: 80% [26%]  
Throwing 15%: 67% [10%]  
Ninjutsu 30%: 100% [30%]

Overall score: 82%'

Naruto was shocked. He did way better than any other year. Last year he got a 60% because he couldn't do a bunshin and he botched the written portion, not to mention his taijutsu. You needed to get a 70% to pass the test so if you flunked the ninjutsu, you had to get everything else perfect or you don't pass, and he could never do that. (2)

This time he passed around the middle of the class though, and many of his classmates were surprised when they found their names under his. Especially Kiba. The Inuzuka didn't look happy at all.

"What the hell!? How am I the dead last?! And how did Naruto jump up so much?!"

It seems other kids were suspicious as well and began questioning as well.

"Yeah, my score is lower than the dobe's, how did that happen."

"How did he jump up so much?"

"He probably cheated."

"Yeah, Naruto-baka couldn't have done that well."

The crowd of students was getting larger, full of outrage that the class clown did so well. Naruto had no idea what to do, so he remained quiet. He knew he shouldn't reveal the Mizu Bunshin yet, because they could call him out for knowing a chunin technique and say he cheated. He just hoped that something would end this soon.

His prayers were answered when Iruka walked back in to see most of the students ridiculing Naruto and yelling at him.

"WHAT DO YOU BRATS THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

The students all quieted down, except Sakura who decided to speak out on their behalf.

"Iruka-sensei, how could Naruto-baka score so well when he was barely passing the class a week ago? He was and is the dobe, so he must have cheated to get a good score."

Sakura stung Naruto with every word. He hoped that since he passed she would reconsider going on a date with him and finally accept him but she still thought he was a loser. Now a cheater too. Thoughts began to come up again about why he liked her.

"Sakura, Naruto studied before the test came up and prepared himself. He did the henge and bunshin flawlessly, managed to pull a good score by getting two hits in taijutsu and completed the written portion. He did not cheat and while he might not have done well in the academy, it does not affect how he scores for the test. Do you understand?" Iruka said sternly. He made sure to leave out key pieces of information like the mizu bunshin and the genjutsus by Mizuki.

"Hai Iruka-sensei." Said Sakura, accepting the answer but clearly not liking it.

"Good. The Hokage will be here in a minute so I would like you all to get in your seats and sit patiently." The students all obeyed and walked to their seats. They all sat down and looked towards the center of the classroom with patience, and some with boredom and bitterness.

The Hokage walked in a second later with a group of ninjas following him and went to the front of the class. He handed a folder to Iruka before beginning his speech. "Hello everyone. I have come to speak with all of you about your futures. You represent the next generation of defenders for Konoha. That means that you all have an important role for our future. I wish you all the best of luck and congratulate all those that passed the genin exams!" With that the students clapped as the Hokage shunshined out of the room and Iruka walked to the front with the folder handed to him by the Hokage.

"Alright, now I will be going over the teams and their jounins, so pay attention so you hear your name if it's called. Team one shall be comprised of..." Naruto tuned out the rest and began to think about his relationship with Sakura. She tended to hurt him and belittle him when she got the chance and would scream at him if he fought with Sasuke. A large part of his mind was telling him that he still cared about her but another was telling him that she didn't like him and that no matter what he did, she wasn't going to either. That part of his mind was starting to win the argument so he shook his head and started tuning in to hear Iruka again.

"... Team 7 will be Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, your jounin sensei is-" Iruka was interrupted by a certain pinkette.

"Iruka-sensei, I thought that the teams were the dead last, the top kunoichi and the top student? Why is Ino-pig on a team with me and Sasuke-kun?" She whined.

"The teams were changed this morning, now if you let me finish, I would tell you that your jounin sensei is Hatake Kakashi-" Iruka was interrupted again when a person jumped through the window and smoke bombs exploded to reveal a woman with black hair in a tied up spiked pony tail, wearing a mesh shirt that showed off her breasts, a beige trenchcoat, a short skirt and a sign behind her stating 'The Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko!'

"Hey everyone, I'm hear to see my new victims- I mean students!"

"Anko, why did you do that?!"

"Because I felt like it."

Iruka sighed and continued with the teams.

"As I was saying, Team 7's sensei is Hatake Kakashi with the assistance of Mitarashi Anko. Team 8 will be Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto. Your jounin sensei is Yuki Kurenai. Team 9 is still active. Team 10 will be Akimichi Choji, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Your jounin sensei is Sarutobi Asuma. Those are your teams. Please wait if your jounin senseis are not here yet. Other than that, I congratulate you all on your success and wish wish you all luck."

Several Jounins collected their students and headed out the academy doors. Anko decided to do the same.

"Alright brats, Kakashi won't be in for a while so we're heading out without him. Now hurry up before I decide to use you a target practice!" Ino and Sakura got the message and ran out the door. Sasuke got up from his chair casually and walked out of the class, but not before calling Naruto a dobe as he left.

Naruto wanted to yell at him but he wanted to meet his sensei more so he ignored Sasuke. Sasuke got angry by being ignored and scoffed as he exited.

Naruto remained focus on his future. He was getting a sensei! He didn't know who this Yuhi person was but he hoped she wasn't like his teachers besides Iruka.

Naruto was knocked out of his thoughts when two people walked into the classroom. One was a man with spiky black hair, brown eyes and a beard that went from his chin to his sideburns. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was wearing black pants with white tape at the ankles, a black long-sleeved undershirt and a green vest. The other was a woman with raven black hair and red eyes. She was wearing tape around her upper thighs and forearms, a strange white dress that had a black spiked line pattern and a single red sleeve on her right arm.

"Team 10 is with me." The man said. So he was Asuma Sarutobi. He was jiji's son!

"Team 8 is with me." The woman said. That meant she was Yuhi Kurenai. She was Naruto's sensei!? She seemed pretty cool based on her clothes, so Naruto hopped out of his chair and went to greet her. Naruto, Shikamaru, after he was woken up, and Hinata all walked out the door with their new sensei.

As Naruto walked beside his new teammates, he tried to start up conversation with Hinata.

"So Hinata, are you excited to be a genin?"

"Well umm , y-yes N-Naruto-kun. I-I've been l-looking f-forward to it for s-some time. H-how about y-you?"

"I'm so happy! I failed alot but lately I worked my butt off and managed to pull a good score! Now we're on a team with a jounin-sensei. It's so cool!"

"That's w-wonderful, N-Naruto-kun. I'm g-glad that y-you passed."

Naruto smiled at the stuttering bluenette. He always thought she was kinda weird but she was nice too. Not to mention she had pretty eyes. Narito's eyes widened slightly at his own thoughts.

'Were did that come from?' Naruto thought to himself. He hadn't really focused on other girls since he started his quest to get Sakura, but lately she had been treating him so poorly that even he couldn't laugh it off. He really wanted her to give him a chance but even after passing with a good score she still thought nothing of him. He just hoped he would have a chance with someone, someone who would treat him like a person and not a loser or embarrassment. He shook these thoughts away and continued walking to the team's destination.

Team 8 made it to a training ground with large trees surrounding it and a small clearing in it with lushes green grass. There was also a small river that flowed by, giving the area a feeling of surreal beauty. The team hadn't much time to look around before Kurenai collected them into a circle.

"Now lets begin by introducing ourselves. We should go over things we like, what we dislike, hobbies, and a goal for the future. I'll go first. My name is Yuhi Kurenai. My likes are dango and kare raisu (2), and my friends Anko and Yugao. My dislikes are perverts, fangirls, and those who think kunoichi are weak. My hobbies include learning new genjutsu and and botany. My goal is to protect my village, to prove that kunoichi are just as strong as their male counterparts, and to create a new powerful genjutsu. How about you go next Hinata." The shy girl became red with embarrassment and tried to get her words out.

"M-my name is H-Hyuuga Hinata. I-I like red bean soup a-and dumplings. I d-don't spicy foods o-or liars. My h-hobby i-is m-making healing balms a-and w-working with p-plants. My dream is to unite the Hyuuga Clan and to help Neji-niisan." She said with determination at the end. Kurenai heard she stuttered and had confidence problems, but they seemed to all but disappeared when she spoke pf her goals and that was something the the jounin could smile about. Naruto smiled at her determination and Shikamaru sighed and looked around lazily. Hinata noticed his smile and immediately lost her confidence and blushed like a tomato. Kurenai intervened on the embarrassed girl's behalf and started again.

"Alright, how about Shikamaru. Can you explain what you like, you dislike, your hobbies, and your goals?" Shikamaru looked up and sighed again. "Troublesome... my name is Nara Shikamaru and I like Shogi, my friend Choji and sleeping. I don't like troublesome women and having to get up early. My hobbies are cloud watching, day dreaming, sleeping and playing Shogi with my old man. My goal is to have a normal wife with normal kids and have a normal boring job with a normal boring life." He then laid back down on the grass to watch the sky, leaving Kurenai and Naruto to Sweatdrop at his careless laid-back attitude and bland goals, and Hinata to look at him confused. Kurenai got out of her reaction from the lazy Nara's life plan and looked at Naruto. "Alright Naruto, now you tell us about yourself."

Naruto jumped onto his feet and looked up at his sensei with confidence. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, pranks, Sak-" Naruto cut himself off as he was about to say 'Sakura-chan". He didn't feel like he would ever get him to like him and began to notice that maybe he didn't like her as much he thought and started to lose his crush. " pranks, and Hokage-jiji. I don't like Sasuke-teme, arrogant jerks, fangirls, or perverts. My hobbies are pranking, trap making and gardening. My dream is to one day become Hokage and surpass all the others, and earn the respect of those in Konoha!" He screamed with power.

Kurenai looked at him with a surprise. She did not know he had a connection with the Hokage, nor did she know about his love for plants. Perhaps Hinata, Naruto and herself could have common ground. And his dream. He had alot to work on if he wanted to do that, and it was her job to do that.

Not only did Kurenai notice it, but also Hinata and Shikamaru when he cut himself off as he started saying something. It sounded to them like he was going to say Sakura, but for some reason, he stopped. Perhaps he stopped liking her. Kurenai and Shikamaru thought 'thank goodness.' The former because of her hatred for fangirls and how they make real kunoichi look, and the latter because he finds Sakura 'troublesome. Hinata didn't show it but inside, she was screaming with glee that Naruto didn't say Sakura and that the blond may finally notice her. She was always too nervous to talk to him, and him liking Sakura meant he would never notice her. Kurenai coughed and got their attention. "Alright It's nice to meet all of you. I expect you all here tomorrow at 8:00. We have something you must do that all new genin must go through." They all looked somewhat confused at what was so important, even Shikamaru. Naruto decided to voice their concern.

"What's the big important thing we gotta do tomorrow?" Kurenai smirked at her team.

"Tomorrow is your real genin test. If you fail, you all go back to the academy. Do you understand?"

"Nani!?"

"T-there's another t-test?"

*sigh* "troublesome"

(End Chapter 4)

(1) There had to be a reason Lee passed and I felt this made sense because Naruto always failed in Ninjutsu so he failed, meaning that it had a big impact in score, but you could still pass without it, but barely. It would explain why Lee was dead last of his year.

(2) Kare Raisu: curry with rice, yummy

What did you guys think? I know it's slow but trust me it's way faster after next chapter.

Please Review and Favorite/Follow

Until next time, see ya!


	5. Chapter 5: New Genin Test

Yay! Another Chapter! I spend a long time making this one as it was hard to figure out the test for them. Please enjoy and wish my story luck.

Please review and follow.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 5

The training field was quiet. Before Naruto jumped up to his feet and began questioning his new sensei. "What do ya mean Genin test? We just passed! Why didn't we hear about this before? I worked my butt off to pass that test and now you're telling me I have another one to do?!" Kurenai was amused by his reaction and smiled.

"Naruto-san. You just passed the test from the academy. In order to determine if you are strong enough to be a real genin, you must take another test based upon your skills in the field. This test is not told so you have to use the skills you learned to try to complete it. Do you all of you understand?" Naruto had a sour expression on his face, but nodded, while Hinata nodded meekly and Shikamaru sighed and looked away lazily.

"Great, now I will see you all tomorrow. I recommend that you all get a good night's sleep and not eat tomorrow. You wouldn't want to throw up during the test." With that, Kurenai disappeared in a flash of leaves.

Naruto looked at the ground she used to be at. "I've gotta learn how to do that." He turns to his teammates. "So what do we do now? She told us to see her tomorrow but should we not eat breakfast? I was told to always eat in the mornings but I don't want to break her orders."

Naruto looked confused and Shikamaru sighed as he got up. "Well we should still eat." Naruto looked at the Nara. "Why?" He asked. "Well she's not our sensei until we pass that troublesome test, so we don't have to listen. It would be troublesome to be hungry while we take a test." Hinata stood up silently and decided to speak meekly aswell. "Hai, w-we s-should eat t-tomorrow if we w-want to p-pass." Naruto smiled at his future teammates. No. His new teammates.

"Alright! We can do this! All we have to do is work together and becoming full fledged genins will be easy.!" He turned to his teammates. "Sooo... you guys want to come with me to Ichiraku's to eat?"

"Can't" Shikamaru said."I gotta meet up with my parents before my mom yells at me, troublesome woman. I'll see ya tomorrow." And with that the lazy Nara put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Naruto turned his attention to Hinata with a pleading look. She took notice and turned red while poking her fingers together. "I-I wish I c-could N-Naruto-kun, b-but I h-have to meet up w-with m-my F-Father. P-perhaps we c-could t-tomorrow?" Naruto was saddened that they couldn't eat with him but smiled when she said she could tomorrow. "Alright Hinata-chan. No problem. I'll see ya tomorrow!"

Naruto then ran off while waving to the shy girl who was mentally dancing about Naruto calling her Hinata-'chan'. She finally relaxed and started walking home.

Kurenai had not left and watched the whole interaction. She smiled about how Naruto tried to bring the team together and could see that her team would get along fine. While she was the slightest bit upset by not getting her ideal team, she was very happy with what she got. Kakashi didn't seem happy about it when they talked about it though.

-flashback-

"What do you recommend, Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage stood up to speak with them, as he did not wish to appear weak. "Let's go over the most glaring details. Uzumaki and Uchiha cannot be on a team. They would fight and Sasuke would belittle him. Nara and Hyuuga need motivators and confidence; and Haruno and Yamanaka need a teacher to teach them how to be proper kunoichi."

"But sir. I requested Naruto and Sasuke because of their rivalry and the fact that Sasuke needs someone that will motivate him to be loyal to Konoha." Kakashi stated.

"That may be, but I did not have this information earlier, otherwise I would have denied your request." The Hokage said. "The Uchiha is not best team player and Naruto is now progressing at an alarming rate. This would spur jealousy and would make any teamwork impossible."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, Sasuke can't be that bad." Kakashi counter lazily.

"Really?" The aged Sandaime then pulled a folder out of his desk and opened it, revealing a picture of a young girl and her academy stats.

"This girl's name is Hana Kajin. She had much promise in genjutsu and even held the highest score in genjutsu of the class a few years ago. Higher than the Uchiha's. Apparently he was jealous, as he told her not to pursue genjutsu as it is for weaklings. The girls may not have been a fangirl but she had a crush on him and agreed. Iruka found out and tried to get her back on the career path that would be good for her but she was too enamored with the Uchiha at the time. She lost her drive for genjutsu and ended up becoming another fangirl." Kurenai sneered and already hated the boy. She had pride in her skills and genjutsu was often belittled and underestimated.

Both Asuma and Kakashi were also surprised by the devious tactic that Sasuke did to stay on top. The boy cost another person their career, and that was not something any of them would forget easily.

Kurenai prayed she didn't get him on her team or she might wring his neck or use a genjutsu on him to show him what weak techniques can do.

"The next problem is the need for confidence and motivation. Both need someone that will have this quality and is willing to be friendly. Someone that they are both aquatinted with and are willing to work with..." the Hokage trailed off, hoping they would catch on. It seemed Kurenai did. "You mean Naruto. While I have heard he's and not the deadlast, would that team function well together?" She asked.

"I do believe it will. They could both benefit from Naruto's drive, plus Naruto has great chakra capacity which needs training, which is why I believe that you should be their sensei Kurenai."

Kurenai thought about the team. With skills they could be a strong capture team, with Naruto as a Ninjutsu specialist after training him, Hinata with the Byakugan and Shikamaru's shadow technique, it would be a devastating force to be reckoned with. While it wasn't what she originally wanted, she could see it working with positive results. "I accept you proposal Hokage-sama." Kurenai said.

Asuma stepped forward. "What about the 'fangirls'. With Kurenai taking that team, who would teach Haruna and Yamanaka how to be proper kunoichi?" He asked.

The Older Sarutobi let a small sinister smile brush across his face. "I have found someone that can help with that problem." As if on cue, the office door slammed open and smoke filled the room. A sign them appeared out of nowhere and a lone figure stood in front of it.

"Heyyyy everyone. It's the sexy and single Mitarashi Anko on the scene, ready to find out who my new maggots are." The group besides the Hokage sweatdropped and could only pray for the two poor fangirls that were going to be destroyed by this woman.

-flashback end-

After the teams were decided, Kakashi walked out lazily, but Kurenai could tell that he wasn't the happiest with being put with two fangirls and an assistant jounin sensei. Then again, if he didn't keep requesting the Uchiha, then maybe he could have gotten out of it. Kurenai used a shunshin and disappeared from the forest, anxious to find out how her could be team would perform tomorrow.

Naruto was walking home when he came across a ninja store. He realized he was now allowed inside as a ninja and decided to walk in. When he entered he was greeted with the sight of brand new ninja gear, shiny weapons, and shinobi clothing. Naruto looked around and saw that nobody was going to throw him out, some looked at him with a tight face, while others noticed, then looked away. In his opinion, it was better than the way civilians treated him. Naruto smiled an began to look around the next shop full of wonderful things.

(line break)

Naruto woke up and put on some of his new clothes. Last night he found really nice clothes for good prices. First was a burnt orange jacket with black accents. While it didn't have the red spiral, he would add that later. He also found black shinobi pants with an dark orange line running down the pant legs, new tape for his ankles, a grey skintight shirts and black sandals. He put on new black hand guards with metal plates on them and looked himself in the mirror. He looked way better in the new clothes then he ever did in the jumpsuit.

He loved his jumpsuit but he only got it at first because it was on sale when he bought it. The civilian stores always overcharged him and anything that looked good was out of his price limit. He wore it out of desperation, but it grew on him and he loved it, but it was time to move on.

Now that he could go into stores and find new clothes that weren't overpriced, he finally got something different. He also got a cool jacket that was white and had blue patterns on the bottom and edges of it's front that resembled waves, but he would wear it on his first mission outside the village. He found some other clothes that had more blue in them too like a blue jacket, blue accented pants, and blue shirts. He decided to keep those clothes for his first real mission too.

Naruto opened up his ramen containers and poured boiling water in them then waited for them to finish so he could eat. That was also on his list. Now that he was a ninja they couldn't overcharge him and give him rotten food. Now he could eat some different food.

He found out he loved pineapple and other fruits after Iruka brought him some, but the stores always gave him bad ones or triple the prices on them, so he could never indulge in his new love when he wanted.

Iruka still brought fruit sometimes, but Naruto ate through them quick, so they never lasted long. That's why he tried gardening. While he couldn't get alot out of potted plants, it was better than nothing.

Naruto stopped thinking about other foods when his timer went off and he dug into his ramen and finished it quick before going to the test field.

Naruto ran up to see Hinata sitting there and Shikamaru sleeping against a tree lazily. Naruto wondered why the lazy Nara was there on time. Usually he showed up about ten minutes late for classes. "Hey Hinata-chan, hey Shikamaru. How you guys doing.

Hinata got red faced. She wouldn't admit it out loud but Naruto's new clothes looked great on him. That and at being called 'chan' again. Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome. My mom made me wake up early so I couldn't sleep in. Troublesome woman. What's with the new clothes Naruto. At least it looks better than your jumpsuit?"

"Oh." Naruto started."I got these yesterday, kind of as a gift to myself for passing the genin exam. I love my jumpsuit but I wanted to try something new." Though before Hinata could say anything to Naruto, a puff of smoke revealed Yuhi Kurenai in full battle outfit. She looked at Naruto's new clothes with surprise then nodded with approval. In her opinion, it was a huge step up from the orange monstrosity he wore yesterday.

"Alright team, it's good to see all of you. Now I'm guessing you all ate this morning based on your talk yesterday?" Naruto and Hinata both blushed with slight embarrassment, causing Kurenai to smile alittle, and Shikamaru sighed.

"Ok. Your test is today and I expect you to pass. Your objective is to catch me. Right now it is 9:00. Failure to do so before noon means you fail. Now begin!" Kurenai disappeared with flower petals, leaving the genins to try to figure out what to do.

"Guys! What do we do!?" Naruto screamed. He didn't want to go back to the academy and wasn't very good at tracking. "Oi, Oi, just relax Naruto. We need to come up with a plan so when we find her we can catch her. Otherwise we go back to the academy and I get yelled at by my troublesome mother."

Naruto wanted to run and start looking but even he agreed to that. It takes planning he do well. He has to plan for weeks before doing pranks or he can mess up and get caught. "So what do we do? You got any ideas Hinata-chan?" Hinata blushed and poked her fingers together. "Well... I h-have s-some ideas... I h-have my B-Byakugan, so w-we can f-find her." Naruto smiled and Shikamaru asked her the next question. "How far can you see?"

"A-A f-few k-kilom-meters." Shikamaru went into deep thought about their next course of action.

(line break)

Kurenai has been in hiding for a few hours now and has been moving from spot to spot. She was wondering why they haven't pursued her. She thought that Naruto would rush in, but it seems he had some patience and they were making a plan.

She was about to shunshin to a new spot when I saw Naruto and Hinata come out of the trees west of her. Hinata pointed at her up in the tree she was in and Naruto jumped up and did several hand signs before over a dozen clones were around her.

She wondered what they were planning but didn't get much time to think as the horde of Naruto's charged. She jumped out of her now compromised hiding spot and took the closest clone out with ease, but instead it being an illusion, it was real and dispelled into water.

'Water clones? That takes water and a large amount of chakra to make so many. How much chakra does Naruto have?' She thought as she took out more clones. She landed on the ground, with Hinata and Naruto on opposite sides of her.

"That was surprising. I did not know you could make water clones, and so many at that. But I wonder where Shikamaru is." Naruto smiled at her statement. "Well we're full of surprises. You haven't seen anything yet!" Naruto opened his palm to reveal a small gadget in his hand (1). Kurenai wondered what it was as Naruto brought his hand down on the ground, which was covered in water. Kurenai looked down and saw she was in a puddle of water from the clones being destroyed. Her eyes widened and she jumped out of the water, avoiding the electricity that cackled in the area she used to be in.

Kurenai was then assaulted by Hinata who tried to hit her with some juuken, but she was no slouch in close quarters combat because she was a genjutsu specialist. Kurenai pushed Hinata back and saw the younger girl was losing her confidence fast.

Just as Hinata was going to give out, Naruto jumped in along with another dozen clones. Kurenai jumped back and decided to play some cat and mouse so they would have to split up.

She had them follow her for a good twenty minutes before she looked at her timer they had about thirty minutes left. She looked around and she was back in the middle of the training ground.

She was going to keep moving and see what happened next but didn't get the chance as several traps activated around her. 'So this is what they spent their time on' she mused to herself. She jumped back and avoided a kunai trap that launched dozens on the sharp knives at a her, which hit a tree instead.

She avoided another trap as several minor exploding tags went off under her feet and she jumped away. She wondered how many traps there were and congratulated the team on their trap-making skills. She encountered several of them earlier while moving around and on the way to the middle of the training ground. "We got you now Kurenai-sensei!" Kurenai looked and saw she was surrounded by dozens of water clones and could only wonder how many the boy could make and how. Hinata and what she thought was the real Naruto stood side by side.

The army of clones charged at her. She kept them away and then Hinata charged up along side Naruto. Kurenai did a spin and kicked them both with her feet, but they dispersed into water aswell. Her eyes widened as a Naruto clone turned into Hinata and another Naruto charged her. She was forced to jump back, and decided to finally use some genjutsu.

She put her hands together to start handsigns, but that was as far as she got, as she found herself unable to move. "Finally. I've been waiting here for hours. You guys could have gone faster." Kurenai forgot about Shikamaru and cursed herself for her the mistake. "Woo Hoo! We got her! Good job you guys!" Hinata blushed and Shikamaru sighed before giving a slight smile.

Kurenai would usually finish the test here but she wanted to see how they handled something unexpected. She still had control of her mouth and chakra so she put it to use. She spent a long time perfecting her use of the genjutsu without handsigns and it paid off "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)".

Shikamaru found himself at the end of Kurenai's wrath. He was still holding her in his shadows and knew that if he tried to dispel the genjutsu she would escape. "Troublesome woman."

"What was that Shikamaru!?" He looked to see his mother holding a rolling pin like a hammer and a book in her hand with the cover saying 'Motivation Techniques for Your Kids.' For a second, he got scared of what was going to happen and his control faltered. "Troublesome."

Kurenai felt his chakra fluctuate and pushed chakra into her feet. She then freed herself from the weakened shadow bind and went into handsigns before Naruto and Hinata could attack.

"Magan: Tengoku Nagame no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Heaven Viewing Technique(2) )." This jutsu hit Hinata and everyone disappeared around her. "N-Naruto-kun? Shikam-maru-san? W-where a-are you?" Hinata realized she might be in a genjutsu. "Oi! Hinata-chan! Did you miss me?" Hinata turned to see who it was but went red faced by what she witnessed.

Naruto was standing there without his jacket on and was all sweaty and looked at her with a charming smile. "Man Hinata-chan, Trying to catch Kurenai gets a guy sweaty." Naruto then pulled his shirt off to reveal his chest, causing Hinata to let a little bit of blood to fall from her nose.

Naruto. All sweaty. Looking at her with a charming smile. Her mind was overboard. Naruto then threw his pants in front of the blushing girl.

She looked up to see Naruto standing there in his boxers and blood ran down her nose and her face resembled a tomato. "Well Hinata-chan... I tell you something. You're beautiful and I find you stunning. So does everyone else." Hinata was trying to comprehend what Naruto was saying but caught the last part. "W-what d-do y-you m-mean e-everyo-one else?"

Naruto smiled and suddenly she was surrounded by Narutos, all in there boxers. The walked up to her and began hugging her, pressing their sweaty and hit bodies all over her. Hinata could only shut down as blood flowed out of her nose like a flood.

Naruto wondered what happened to Hinata. She started getting all red-faced and blood came out of her nose. He wondered if she was sick or something. "Oi! Sensei, what did ya do to her?!" Naruto yelled. Kurenai then avoid Naruto as he charged her and wove a new genjutsu with her hands for the last genin.

"Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique)" Naruto was hit by the genjutsu and shook his head before charging Kurenai again. He went for a hard left, only to find his knuckles hurting from the impact. Kurenai was now apparently a tree and she was not even there. Naruto saw her again and went for another charge, this time with some clones, but he kept hitting trees or rocks instead of Kurenai.

He realized that he was under a genjutsu and remembered what Iruka said to the class about them. He placed his hands in a release sign. "Genjutsu Kai!" Naruto released a large amount of chakra, which not only dispelled his genjustu but also Hinata's, who was getting close to passing out from blood loss and Shikamaru, who was on the ground with bumps on his head while muttering about troublesome women.

Both looked around and found themselves free from heaven and hell, much to Shikamaru's relief. He had used alot of chakra grabbing Kurenai and trying to hold the much stronger Jonin, so he didn't have enough chakra to get out of the genjutsu.

The three were all trying to collect themselves together and figure out what to do next when the timer went off. It was noon. The time was up. They freaked out, as they had not yet captured their Sensei and were now probably going back to the academy because of it.

Kurenai came out of a hiding spot in the trees to look down at the team. "You all need alot of work and it might take you awhile. You're all disorganized and need to work better as a group. You plan worked well and would have worked if I had not prepared for it, but you fell apart after that. Hinata has alot of problems wirh confidence, Shikamarut needs more motivation and chakra capacity and Naruto needs help in alot of areas. You have a long way to got before you become real shinobi."

Naruto looked down with shame. He worked so hard and now he failed. AGAIN! Why was everything so unfair. He from deadlast to average in a week yet he couldn't beat his genin test. He could only wonder what to do now with his life.

Hinata was terrified. If she failed then she would be placed in the branch family and her dream to fix the Hyuuga clan was gone.

Shikamaru was complaining mentally about how bad his mom would be when she found out.

Kurenai looked at their faces with sadness and knew what they were thinking. "With all that said, you showed great teamwork. You managed to capture me for a period of time, so I pass team 8. Congratulations! You're all full genin."

(End Chapter 5)

(1) I created that genjutsu. I figured that not all genjutsus were bad and that it would fit the story well.

(2) I will explain what it is in the next chapter, please be patient

Ha! I know, it was a much longer chapter and most chapters after this one will be shorter but I couldn't find a good spot to stop it.

Tell me what you guys think and please review.

Until Next Time


	6. Chapter 6: Training

Hello Readers. Another Chapter!

I am looking for someone who can do a cover for my story. I have one drawn and it is my profile pic. Please message me if you can do my picture.

Now lets get into the next chapter.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Last Time:

Kurenai looked at their faces with sadness and knew what they were thinking. "With all that said, you showed great teamwork. You managed to capture me for a period of time, so I pass team 8. Congratulations! You're all full genin."

Chapter 6:

Naruto looked with disbelief before jumping into the air with glee. He passed the test and now was officially a genin! Shikamaru sighed before giving a slight smile at the blond's enthusiasm. Hinata was not only happy that she passed but also that Naruto would be on a team with her from now on.

Kurenai watched her team's reaction with happiness. They all worked very hard and deserved some congratulations. "Well since you all graduated, I think we should celebrate. As an award for passing, I'll take you all out to eat."

Naruto smiled a giant toothy grin at the prospect of food and Shukamaru and Hinata gave small smiles. They all walked down to the market district to enjoy their victory.

While it wasn't ramen like Naruto wanted, they still went to Akimichi Barbeque to enjoy a nice meal. Naruto usually doesn't come the restaurant often because Ichiraku is cheaper and he can get more.

The group got their food enjoyed the delicious meal as they talked about the test.

"I must say, the trap you set for me was well done, but what if I never went into it and time ran out? What then?"

"Well, that's why we sent Hinata and Naruto after you. We had them push you into the trap zone."

"It was a well thought out strategy but it had some holes. I wonder though, what was the little device you used to shock the water Naruto?"

"Oh, you mean this?"

Naruto pulled a small gadget out which turned out to be... a joy buzzard. "I found shock seals at a store once and copied them onto the buzzard, making it stronger so I could use it for pranks. At first it didn't work, but I pushed chakra into it as I drew them. After I shocked myself acouple of times I got it to work. Now it's super strong! I even shocked a white haired old pervert once from behind when he was peeping on women."

(line break)

"Achoo!" A white haired man in dull green clothes and a red long vest (I don't know how to describe it) sneezed.

"Huh, somebody must be talking about my greatness!" Sadly the women he was peeping on heard the sneeze and were now surrounding him with towels on and anger written all over their faces.

Jiraiya gulped and got scared of what was going to happen to him. "Hello ladies, are you interested in being in my next book?" he said sheepishly. Judging by their looks, they weren't interested.

(line break)

After finishing, Naruto went on to talk to Shikamaru about traps. Kurenai was surprised about the copying of the seal. To copy seals was very difficult yet Naruto did it without any help. He also put lots of chakra into it judging by the amount of electricity that was in the water. Clearly Naruto didn't think it was a big deal though. Kurenai would bring this up with the Hokage, along with his ability to produce so many water clones.

"Oi!" A yell come from behind them. Naruto turned around to see Kiba and the rest of team 10 walking in to the restaurant.

"Looks like you guys passed, despite having the deadlast on your team." Kiba gave a cocky grin. Akamaru barked at Kiba. Choji and Asuma sighed at his overconfidence. Shino simply ignored it and let his bugs buzz around him.

"Last time I checked, you scored lower then me."

"That's because you cheated. You're probably just as weak as you were first starting the academy."

"Shut up dogbreath!"

"Oh, I guess you dragged your team down didn't you. They had to cover your ass while trying to beat the test." The two were now yelling at each other face to face and seemed to draw more and more attention to themselves in the restaurant.

Kurenai was internally happy that she did not get Kiba now. He seemed way more brash than Naruto and overly confident in his lackluster skills.

The boy was still a genin yet he carried himself like a man with the power of a Kage. Kurenai decided to step in and defend her student before they started a fight in the restaurant.

"Actually Kiba-kun, Naruto was a major help to the team. He used several clones to push me back along with Hinata, and set traps that were so well placed that I almost couldn't find them."

Naruto smiled at being defended by his new sensei and Kiba scoffed and walked away. Asuma stepped forward to talk to them.

"I'm sorry about his attitude. I'll try to curve it but he seems very confident in his skills, despite scoring lowest in the class. Would you mind if my team joined your for a meal?"

Kurenai looked at Asuma for a full minute before relenting. "Alright, just keep Kiba away from Naruto and Hinata."

After that, the two teams sat together and ordered more food to make up for the numbers. Kiba would try to sass Naruto or check out Hinata, but would be scolded for his behavior. Other than that, the group got along and enjoyed the meal.

(line break)

The next morning, all the jounins were called up to discuss the results of the tests. They all met up at the Hokage tower to give their reports on how their teams did. One by one jounins told how their teams did and if they were worthy of being genins.

"Team one: fail"

"Team two: still active"

"Team three: fail"

"Team four: pass" some people got surprised that a team actually passed but said nothing.

"Team five: fail"

"Team six: fail"

Kurenai stepped forward. "Team eight: pass" people began whispering amongst themselves. The team with the jinchuuriki passed and now he was a genin. Some didn't feel too happy about that. The Hokage smiled at the fact his surrogate grandson passed.

"Team nine: still active"

"Team 10: pass" Asuma was well known by the community and could see why his team passed. The Hokage stood up to address his shinobi.

"Alright thank you all for coming and I wish you the best of luck. Those of you who had unsuccessful teams will have a chance to be genin senseis in the future. Now, have-" suddenly, the door opened and they all turned around to see an Irritated Mitarashi Anko dragging a crying Kakashi by the scruff of his jacket.

"Sorry we're late Hokage-sama, this idiot thought he could be late, so I personally made sure he would show up relatively on time today." She smiled sinisterly and Kakashi was now muttering as he cried anime teams. Everyone wondered what she could have possibly done to reduce him to such a state.

"Gone... it's all gone... all gone..." he mumbled softly.

"Kakashi, what do mean?" The Hokage asked.

"My Icha Icha... she burned them all. Every page and special edition. All destroyed!" He cried out.

The collective group sweatdropped at his overly large passion for the porn. Kurenai was dancing and thanking Anko in her mind for destroying the filth.

"Eh hem, well Anko, can you tell us how Team seven did?" Anko let go of Kakashi and let him fall to the floor. "Sure, Team seven passed, but barely. They need alot of work, especially the girls." The Hokage nodded.

"Very well. Thank you all for coming and I wish you all the best of luck." He said. Anko grabbed Kakashi by his jacket and dragged the sobbing jounin out of the room alongside the other jounins.

The Hokage loved his Icha Icha and would cry too if someone destroyed it, or worse, showed in to the village. He shuddered at the thought.

(line break)

Team 8 met up at their training ground the next day to wait for their sensei. While Naruto managed to get small talk out of Shikamaru, Hinata was more shy and stuttered alot. He though she was sick when she would get all red. He pressed his head up against hers to get her temperature, but the thoughts about Kurenai's genjustu from the test were fresh in her mind and she envisioned it when Naruto's forehead touched hers.

She fainted and Naruto started freaking out and tried to grab and shake her awake, and that's what Kurenai walked in on: A lazy Nara in the corner ignoring a frantic Uzumaki trying to get a shy Hyuuga out of her passed out state.

"Eh hem." This got the attention of the two boys and the one girl who just awoke. Hinata found herself in Naruto's arms and blushed again. Naruto didn't notice and got up, letting go of the shy girl. They collected themselves and got in a half circle to sit down on the grass in front of the sensei.

"Alright. I have a schedule plan for training and missions. All days will have physical training but the main objective of each day varies: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are mission days. We will do as many D- Rank missions on those days as possible. Tuesdays and Thursdays are for team training so we can create formations and plans of attack. Fridays will be for jutsu training such as Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Sundays are individual days. You are free to spend that day however you like as long as you train for at least two hours. The only time this schedule is not in effect is when there events taking place, like long term missions, which will come later. Now that is out of the way, any questions?"

No one raised there hand. Naruto was bouncing with excitement though and Shikamaru and Hinata couldn't help but smile at his happiness.

"Great! Seeing as it's Monday, we will work for alittle bit before going on a mission."

Naruto was so excited. His first mission? What would he do first? Save a princess? Beat bandits? Fight ninja? What?

It's been a week and Kurenai was happy but exhausted. She wanted to relax and spend her Sunday in peace. Not that her team was bad.

Kurenai walked into a well known ninja bar called the Rusty Kunai. She noticed some people she knew of, like Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai, were talking (more like one yelling and the other reading and not paying attention.) She sat down at a small take and ordered herself a drink while thinking about her team.

Shikamaru was lazy, but he did his job. He was doing chakra exercises that forced him to use more chakra so his coil would adapt and expand. He found it 'troublesome' and complained but she ignored it and continued his training.

Hinata listened and would follow orders easily but tended to get shy and became reclusive quickly. She had excellent control of her chakra but didn't like to use her skills to hurt others.

Naruto may complain about the D-ranks after finding out how boring they were but he worked very hard when it came to teamwork and chakra control. He was on the leaf exercise right now and it would take him some time to get his massive amount of chakra under control. On the other hand, he was helping the other two with there problems and that made him a great part of team 8.

"Oi, Kurenai-chan." She looked up from her thoughts to see Anko walk in with grin. It seems that Asuma came as well, as he was not too far behind them.

Kurenai saw Kakashi walk up with Gai following. The four jounin senseis all sat down along with Kurenai, as if a planned meeting was about to occur. It was somewhat tense for a moment before Anko got restless and broke the silence.

"So Kurenai-chan, how's your team doing?"

Kurenai smiled. "They're doing fine. They get along well and tend to have good teamwork. While a few of them might not like the D-rank missions, they complete them quickly."

"Well, team 7's doing bad." She said loudly.

"Anko-san, that's not true. Our genins are doing just fine." He said while lazily looking at her. He hid his new Icha Icha book in his pocket because of what Anko might do to it if she found it.

"Really? I have to keep trying to get the fangirls to act like real kunoichi, but they only want to watch the Uchiha practice. This is their future, yet they treat it like a game. Girls like them are embarrassments to the kunoichi that actually train." Kurenai nodded.

She understood what Anko meant. It was harder to be a female ninja than a male because of the sexism, the lower amount of natural strength through testosterone, and the cases of rape. Nobody wanted that in the field, at all. It didn't help that some kunoichi treated it as a game.

"Well team 10 is doing alright. We get through drills but Kiba has a tendency to fight with his other teammates and he tries to assert he is the 'alpha' of the team." Asuma sighed out. He was okay with his team but having Kiba made it hard.

"Team 8 is making good progress. We've been working on formations and chakra exercises. Naruto is also helping with Hinata's confidence and Shikamaru's lack of motivation."

Kakashi didn't show it but he wished he had Naruto on his team. The boy apparently had a good head on his shoulders and a big heart. The blond could help Sasuke become stronger and be loyal to Konoha despite the rivalry between them.

While he didn't complain about it, he didn't like how his team was put together. Sakura and Ino always fought and Sasuke would brood and train.

"How did your teams like their first week of D-rank missions?" Asuma asked. "Team 10 got through them but Kiba complained and Choji wanted to eat every 15 minutes. Shino did his job fine until a woman used bug spray on him. He freaked out and went nuts. Then he cried about the loss of his kikachu."

"Team 8 does their missions. While Shikamaru and Naruto may not like them, they do fine. It helps that Naruto can create water clones though. It speeds up the process."

The other jounins looked at Kurenai with disbelief. "Water Clones?" Anko asked.

"Yes, he can produce dozens of water clones without fatigue, I even talked to the Hokage about it."

-flashback-

Kurenai scheduled an appointment with the Hokage to ask a couple of questions regarding her energetic student.

"Hokage-sama, I have a few questions regarding Uzumaki Naruto." The Hokage smiled at the young jounin.

"I'm guessing you mean his Mizu Bunshins?"

Kurenai looked at the Hokage with surprise. "You knew?"

"Yes, as I am the one who gave it to him." Kurenai was shocked that the Hokage would give a genin an intermediate jutsu with no training. "Why?"

"He could not create the standard bunshin because of his chakra control and capacity. He needed a stronger solution so I tested his affinity and found he has wind with a superior water release."

Kurenai nodded at the logic. Naruto may have never passed because of the Bunshin made a big percentage of the ninjutsu portion.

"He can create clones without a water source. I believe he is using moisture in the air and from the surrounding trees to create so many without a major source of water. He just doesn't realize it."

The Hokage looked at the jounin with surprise. He did not think of that but it made perfect sense.

"Thank you for speaking to me about this Hokage-sama. I have some information for you though. Naruto is quite proficient in traps and seal work. He copied a lightning seal onto a joy buzzard prank toy and because he put so much chakra into it, the toy was able to produce a substantial amount of electricity which he used in the genin test."

The Hokage's was shocked about the information but hid it well under his stoic face. "Thank you for the information Kurenai, you are dismissed."

The Jounin shunshined out of the office leaving an aged Leaf Shadow to think about his surrogate grandson.

-flashback end-

"Wow, that kid's gonna be dangerous in the future." Asuma said as he took out a cigarette.

"Yosh! Naruto-kun shall ignite his flames of youth and become a warrior of the leaf!"

"I would love to see how he fights in a few years." Anko said.

Kakashi said nothing but began thinking again. Naruto had great skill and would have been a great addition to his team. Sasuke needs some motivation to stay in Konoha and Naruto was a great solution.

"Say Kurenai, do you mind if we do some team training with all our teams. I feel like it would benefit all of our students seeing each other and how they have progressed."

Kurenai thought about the suggestion for a moment before nodding. While she could tell Kakashi had an unknown reason, she felt the pros outweighed the cons in the situation.

"So what would our cute little genin do in these group training events." Anko asked with a smirk.

(line break)

The D-Ranks grated on all their nerves, even Hinata's. Ones like catching Tora the demon cat of cleaning the Inuzuka dog kettles were the worse.

The rest of team 8 noticed when people would scowl or glare at Naruto, or when clients would try to give Naruto less than he earned or not pay him at all.

Shikamaru and Hinata asked why they looked at him like that, and he always told them that it was because of it pranks.

It would make sense to anyone else but two team members weren't convince. They wanted to find out the real reason but they could tell that Naruto wouldn't tell them at the moment so they relented.

Kurenai stepped in when they tried to jip the blond, and Naruto was very grateful for it, as he didn't want to be the one to call the people out on their crookedness.

Despite the hiccups, Team 8 was flourishing under Kurenai. Naruto managed to get through the leaf exercise and tree walking technique in two weeks! Shikamaru and Hinata were on water-walking at the time and making progress. She told them she would not teach them any ninjutsu or genjutsu until they were trained in control and capacity.

Naruto complained, but hearing her points about how jutsus would not work without a correct amount of control or chakra made him relent.

Shikamaru and Hinata were forced to go through exercises that would force their coils to expand.

It took a month but the results were splendid.

Shikamaru now had mid genin chakra levels. Compared to his original below academy level, it was a huge improvement.

Hinata was in low chunin due to having prior training. She got nervous during the exercises but with Kurenai and Naruto helping, she was starting to stutter less and spoke her opinion more.

Naruto also helped with Shikamaru's laziness with his own motivation. Shikamaru found Naruto's energy troublesome at first until the other boy brought up how if he didn't train hard enough then he couldn't protect the people he loved.

The idea of losing his old man or troublesome mom made Shikamaru push himself alittle harder. Kurenai could only smile at her team's improvement. With the blond ball of energy on the team, improvements were being made at a spontaneous rate!

Naruto got through water walking by the end of a month. He spent every Sunday practicing on the water and wouldn't quit until it was night time or he succeeded. He made great progress with his control and could summon even more clones now due to not wasting chakra.

Kurenai had him on a diet too! More fruits, vegetables, and meats. He didn't mind, as he like those kinds of food and now he could now get better (nonmoldy, unbruised, overpriced, etc.) foods because of his ninja status. He could go to stores that didn't treat him like a nuisance.

The downside was she told him that he had to eat less ramen. He protested, as ramen was 'the food of the gods' and he couldn't give it up. After calming him down, Kurenai then said how ramen was good in small amounts, but it didn't give his body nutrients that it needed to grow stronger. She explained about how the diet would help increase his strength and body.

It might help him with his height too, which was always a sore subject. He was the shortest in his class and was picked on for it, so he jumped at the chance to get taller. He couldn't tell much difference in his change at the time but she explained it was a long term process. Results would come eventually if he kept up the meal plan.

Kurenai-sensei helped with his taijutsu aswell, as it was abysmal at best. She asked Gai for some help and found a taijutsu style called the 'Mizu Sutoraiki Odori' (dance of the water strike). It was a very smooth and evasive style that focused on flowing around your opponent before defeating them with harsh and fast impacts.

He complained at first that it wouldn't fit him, but she explained how he isn't much of a tank due to his more slender build and how he would be better with a style that allowed for more water jutsu and quick strong attacks which he he would be good at. So he accepted.

Naruto loved how she was patient with him. She helped through all the katas despite his habit of moving around and not being still. Kurenai has worked with him for three weeks on the new taijutsu. He was very rocky with using such a flowing fighting style but got better every day.

Kurenai explained how she would help him incorporate his clones into the fighting aswell if he perfected it. That made him try even harder. He had a long way to go but he was doing fantastic in such a short time.

(line break)

Kurenai-sensei told Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru that Teams 7, 8, 9, and 10 will be having a group training to compare how each team is progressing.

Naruto was excited. He wanted to prove how strong he was to everyone by fighting someone like Sasuke-teme. Hours of training each day on his new taijutsu and chakra control have done wonders and now he feels better about his skills than he ever has.

They all walked to Team 7's training ground to find Sakura and Ino yelling each other and Sasuke in the corner up against a tree in the shade, making him look ominous and dark. Naruto could tell he was bitter about something. What it was, he had no idea.

It seemed that Anko was not their, as expected. She still needed to make more money and was only an assistant jounin sensei, so she was on a mission that required her skills with poisons and assassination.

Team 7 noticed their presence and looked at the other group group of genins with their sensei. They all seemed to focus on Naruto and his changes, such as his slightly larger build, which made him look leaner, but not bulky in any way, as he was still pretty skinny.

That and his clothes which included his black pants with dark orange accents, the orange and black jacket, which was opened down the middle at the zipper, his grey shirt, and his black sandals and hand guards. (My Profile pic)

The girls both looked at the supposed 'dobe' with surprise. He had gone through a major transformation from the little prankster that always screamed. He now looked like a real shinobi.

Ino was impressed by the way he looked, but she had her pride, so she didn't say anything. She also noticed Shikamaru carried himself in a more serious manner. He still seemed very laid back and lazy, but he also had a more dangerous look to him. He seemed more focused and prepared. Ino wondered what kind of training they were going through.

Sakura on the other hand had very different thoughts on the new Naruto and spoke them out. "Oi Naruto-baka! What's with the clothes! Are trying to impress me because if you are it's not working!"

Team 8 all had to cover their ears at her loudness. They had forgotten how powerful her screech was from the academy. Naruto started to seriously reconsider his crush for Sakura at the moment.

He hadn't thought about the pink haired girl in a month since passing the exam and training. He has spent everyday trying. He still remembered her words though. The way she spoke about him back in the academy, even after passing hurt him and now the crush was very small. Naruto wondered if he could even call it that. It was more like he liked her but not anymore. She was just a girl he had a crush on.

Now here she was, trying to yell at him again for something he didn't do and trying to kiss the teme's ass again. It was just like back in the academy.

"Why are you telling Sakura. We're only 50 feet away from you. And by the way, I got these clothes after passing the test."

They all caught on to how he said 'Sakura' instead of 'Sakura-chan'. Shikamaru already guessed that his crush was gone or almost gone. Ino and Sasuke were wondering why he didn't say it like a love sick puppy. Hinata was dancing happily in her mind.

Their thoughts all came to a stop when they saw that Team 10 started walking towards them. Kiba looking as cocky as ever, Shino stoic, and Choki snacking on chips.

The group of now 9 genin started to converse with itself. Shikamaru catching up with Choji, Shino discussing plants and what bugs help them with Hinata and Naruto, Ino and Sakura going back to fighting for Sasuke's love and Kiba trying to coerce Sasuke into a fight. Asuma and Kurenai shook their heads and watched over their teams quietly.

"So..."said Asuma, interrupting their silent observation." How are you doing Kurenai?"

Kurenai smiled. "I'm doing fine. The team is progressing nicely."

"Well, that's great..." he trailed off. He wanted to try to ask her out but he was very scared of getting rejected by the Ice Queen of Konoha. "Hey... I was wondering... well... Kurenai, would you-"

"Yosh! Hello my fellow senseis of youth! We shall explore new ways to ingite the power of youth within us all using this new exercise!" Screamed Gai, who popped out of nowhere.

Following him was his team, including Hyuuga Neji, stiff and composed, Higarashi (please tell me if this is her correct last name) Tenten, reading a scroll on weapon maintenance, and Rock Lee, who was running laps around his teammates.

Kakashi wasn't there yet so Kurenai took over.

"Alright everyone gather around." The groups of genin all got up from their talks or conversations stood in front of the four jounins. They all looked determined, some more than others. The jounins all smiled at their students. "Today we are trying something new by bringing you all together. This will help you not only in your skills but also in teamwork. So I say welcome to your-"

At that moment, Kakashi popped up with a poof of smoke, face looking down in an Icha Icha book. They all sweatdropped at his addiction to porn, accept Gai who screamed about his hip attitude. He finally noticed the extra additions on his training field when he looked up.

"Oh... was the training thing today?" Kurenai and Asuma simply shook their heads at his strange behavior.

"*sigh*, now, as I was about to say, welcome to your first group training session."

Omake:

The Hokage was in his office, reading one of his special edition Icha Icha books with a perverted smile stretched over his face. While his student had many faults, he wrote amazing hentai. He paradise was interrupted when Kakashi busted though his door, looking tired, disheveled and terrified at the same time.

"They're after the holy texts!"

The Hokage put the book down, much to his disheartenment and looked at the jounin. "What do you mean they're after the 'holy texts'?"

The Konoha Pervert Order loved many books and mange, but none was better than Icha Icha, so they called in the 'holy' or 'sacred' texts so no one knew what they were talking about outside the club.

"Anko! She told other kunoichi about my Icha Icha. Many of them seem to hate the books too. They are banding together. Anko has gotten support from almost every kunoichi in the village and civilians too! They are taking out the Ero-Knights in droves!"

The Hokage's eyes widened. He had no idea that the porn was at such high risk. "Alert everyone in the Order of the problem. We must protect the sacred texts!" The Hokage got up from his desk and pressed a button under a small opening in the wood, which then released an alarm to the village. This alarm was like no other though, as it sounded like a sex moan being screamed all over the village.

Many people were confused and parents rushed either to get their books (men) or covered their children's ears (women). The whole village was in chaos as The Sandaime jumped out from his office window to head to their headquarters.

He and Kakashi got to Ichiraku ramen to find a hundreds of women surrounding the building. They feared they were too late.

Kunoichi, including Yugao, Kurenai and Anko all gathered books from inside the building. Hundreds. Thousands.

Your probably wondering how so many books fit in a ramen stand when the answer is simple. The club was located under Ichiraku ramen. Hidden discreetly away from women's eyes, so the perverts could enjoy their books. Why do you think the Sandaime took Naruto their so often, just to go to the 'back of the restaurant'.

The Hokage wondered how they found out until they saw Ayama Ichiraku standing there over her unconscious father shaking her head. She must have finally found out and gave the location away. But you couldn't fault Mr. Ichiraku's skill of hiding stuff, as he hid it from her for years. But she finally found out and now the dirty secret was out.

The Hokage zeroed in on the cause of all the mayhem.

"Anko! What are you doing!" Yelled the Hokage. She simply smirked and dropped more books into the growing pile of porn.

"She's following my orders." Kakashi, the Hokage, and now a large group of Ero-Knights that gathered from the destruction of their paradise, turned their heads to see who was speaking.

They were all surprised to find Senju Tsunade, the Slug Princess, stand there amongst the group of kunoichi.

"What are you doing back in Konoha Tsunade?" Asked the Hokage.

" I came back to stand with my fellow kunoichi. We are tired of this filth! It is time to destroy it all!"

"YEAH" screamed all the women.

With that, the last of the books were gathered in a giant pile.

"Now everyone! Execute Order 69!" Tsunade screamed. Blasts of fire were then shot at the pile of porn, reducing more of it to ash every second. It burned like a great inferno as all the women danced around it in victory.

"The Sacred Text! Nooooo!." Yelled out the crowd of men.

-:-:-:-:-

Jiraiya, the Super pervert and founder of the Konoha Pervert Order felt something was wrong, like a great disturbance in the porns.

He could sense it.

The porns was the power that controlled the universe and shaped everything. It pleasured and drove all men. Jiraiya was a Ero- Knight, and could tell when there was a shift. As if many of his beautiful works were just destroyed. The balance of Icha Icha has been altered.

"Something is terribly wrong. I just know it."

(End Chapter 6)

What do you think of the Omake and story. Funny? let me know.

Please review and follow my story.


	7. Chapter 7: The Team Exercise

Woo Hoo! Another chapter! I love this story, and I can't wait to get another chapter out there.

I just got 100 followers too! Thank you so much to my followers.

Here's the next chapter. Tell me what you think and please review and follow the story.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 7: Team Exercise

Kurenai looked at the 12 genin in front of her with keen eyes. She could see that outside her team, some of them have made slight improvements.

She saw that Kiba was still giving off an air of cockiness, but it was a little less that usual. Perhaps someone was doing something to curve it.

Shino looked prepared, but no much difference was apparent on him.

Choji was still eating chips like when she first saw him in the academy building.

Sasuke seemed the same, but had an edge of egotism and anger that seemed to have gotten larger.

Ino and Sakura both looked the same as usual. They didn't seem to change much despite having Anko as a sensei. They probably didn't listen to her, and Anko had no strong authority to get them to change as she was only an assistant. Maybe today would change their perspectives on how strong they are verses their peers.

She looked at Gai's students and could tell they were all strong, but she had no basis of growth as she had never seen them before.

She decided she would determine their strengths in the exercise. She clear her throat to get their attention.

"Now listen up. This is an exercise to test your abilities in not only combat but in survival and teamwork. You will be put into teams of two or four depending on the exercise. Your teams will be given missions against either us or your fellow genin. Each time your team wins a mission, you get points. If you get the most points, you will receive a reward, and trust me, it will be worth it."

The idea of getting a reward perked many of their interests, especially Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke. They all wanted a way to get stronger faster, but some of them wanted it for darker reasons then others.

"Now here is the first activity. You will be put into teams of two and put int battles. You should focus on teamwork and working together with your strengths. Now here are the teams:

Team A: Aburame Shino and Rock Lee

Team B: Akimichi Choji and Higarashi Tenten

Team C: Kiba Inuzuka and Haruno Sakura

Team D: Hyuuga Hinata and Ino Yamanaka

Team E: Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru

Team F: Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto

Stand by your new teammate so we can decide the next course of action."

Kurenai could tell that the last team would be a train wreck. They had discussed earlier that week which genins would go together. Why Kakashi wanted that pairing, she had no idea. While Naruto was developing exceptionally, his relationship with Sasuke could lead to a poor outcome.

Naruto was wondering if his sensei hated him when he heard he was on a team with Sasuke. The guy hated him ever since he met him. Always calling him weak and worthless. The dobe. It was infuriating to him!

Now he had to fight alongside the same guy. Just great.

As everyone shuffled themselves around to stand with their new partner, Naruto saw that Sasuke didn't look happy either. He sighed and walked over the the duck butt haired emo, who was scowling at the ground as if it made fun of the Uchiha clan.

Naruto got alongside Sasuke with a good distance between them. He didn't want to be close to him, and he was pretty sure Sasuke didn't want to be either.

He looked around to see that everyone else was in their teams, some more enthusiastic then other. Kurenai spoke up again to get their attention.

"Alright everyone, the rules for the first round is simple. You are going to be put i battles. Some of these will be taijutsu, others will be based on teamwork or other events. The first round is only taijutsu, so can I have Team A and Team D step forward. Everyone else, I want you to watch your comrades and learn from any mistake they make.

Shino, Hinata, Ino, and Lee all stepped up to the front of the training ground opening. Kurenai stepped back and let Asuma take over this part of the training and explain it to the genin. "Alright, Team A on the northside and Team D on the south. When I blow the whistle, the match starts. You may use the whole training ground opening. We will be using the forest portion later, but for now, stay where jonins can see you. Got it?" The four nodded then split into two groups to come up with a plan.

Ino looked at Hinata with slight confusion. While she still looked the same, Hinata was carrying herself is a better manner, and didn't look so hunched over or timid. She still looked afraid, but it was masked with some confidence. She could only wonder what the other kunoichi had been doing with he month of training.

She pushed those thoughts away. What was she talking about. Hinata was probably the same introvert who wouldn't hurt a fly, that meant it was up to her to get them to win.

The two teams faced each other from across the small battlefield, with excitement (Lee), cockiness (Ino), and stoic confidence (Hinata and Shino).

Hinata was tense though and was afraid of what might happen. She didn't want to hurt the other fighters, but she wanted to win too. She was confused and afraid and didn't know what to do at the moment, but she hid it well.

"Go Hinata-chan! You can do it! I believe in you!" Naruto yelled out. Hinata turned her head to see Naruto with a big smile with a thumbs up for her. Shikamaru was up against a tree, but she could see him looking at her with a smile.

She closed her eyes and turned her head back forward to her two combatants with confidence swimming in her eyes.

Ino watched the whole trade off of encouragement between Team 8 with envy. She wished Sasuke wished her luck like that or had a teammate she could work with rather than having Forehead.

Shino and Lee, and Hinata and Ino looked at each other. Waiting for the fight that is to come.

"Hajime!" Asuma screamed out with his hand slicing through the air.

The two teams charged at each other.

-(line break)-

The battle was as surprising as it was unsurprising. Ino charged in only to get knocked back by Lee, meaning Hinata had to cover her. Hinata and Lee trade blows, with Lee holding back, as he didn't want to harm a woman too badly and he still had his weights on. Hinata didn't gain any ground though, as she mainly was on the defensive and was afraid of going at the older genin with offense.

Ino got up and tried to fight Shino, but got scared by all the bugs floating naturally around him and ran. Hinata tried but with Lee's experience and Shino coming in, she lost the fight quickly.

She walked off the battlefield tired and dejected.

She lost her first fight. She wanted to impress her team and maybe even Neji.

She to the sidelines and was tackled by an excited blond. "Great job Hinata! You did great out there!"

"B-but I d-didn't win." She said sadly.

"You fought a kid who specializes in taijutsu and is a year ahead you." Shikamaru said. "You lasted pretty long so you should feel happy about that."

"Shika's right Hinata! Great job. You almost had him there for a second." Naruto said.

Hinata looked at her team with a smile spreading across her face. She was happy that they supported her, even when she failed.

Kurenai watch the whole ordeal of friendship and loyalty with a smile.

Ino looked dejected and envious of the encouragement Hinata got, despite loosing. Kakashi said nothing to her, Sakura made fun of her, and Sasuke just brooded and kept looking at the weird spandex kid with interest in his eyes. Why? She had no idea.

"Alright." Asuma said." Next round: Team B and Team C. Please step up."

Asuma explained the same thing then Choji and Tenten went to north side and Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura to the other.

"Hajime!"

Team 8 watched the fight carefully as Choji was called fat by Kiba. Choji got angry quick then he proceeded to try to crush the other boy and his dog, but was not allowed to use chakra with his taijutsu style. Both he and Kiba fought viciously, but without chakra, Kiba was doing better. Tenten was confident in her skills despite having not weapons and fought Sakura.

The two girls fought and it was clear from the start that Sakura was beat. They traded blows but a minute in, Sakura was tired and was slowing down. Tenten was bored very quickly of the fangirl's fighting and decided to end it. After taking Sakura out with a chop to the back of the neck, Tenten joined Choji, who was out of breath from exhaustion, and they managed to take out Kiba and Akamaru, who would not stop moving and dodging.

"Alright, the final match is between Team E and Team F. Please come forward."

Naruto stretched his arms and legs as he got up and then followed the guy with eyes like Hinata, and Shikamaru. Sasuke got up and followed a moment afterward.

They were given the same instructions. Only taijutsu, one point for a win in this round, etc. Naruto walked over to the south corner and started planning how to take the next course of action. Shikamaru didn't have much skill in taijutsu, but he made up for it with his strategic mind. The other was a Hyuuga. He had fought Hinata before, but this other guy seemed on edge and more prepared to hurt someone than Hinata ever did.

Naruto got to the side along with Sasuke and went through some plans that might help them win. They would need it against the guy who was a while year older than them. Judging by the other kid in the spandex, thus guy was probably just as strong or stronger.

While he didn't know much about him personally, he didn't want to underestimate him.

"Oi, Dobe. You stay out of this. Go fight the other loser, the Hyuuga is mine." Sasuke said with disgust.

Naruto tensed up but tried to remain cool. It wouldn't help to get angry before a fight.

"Your not good enough to fight him. But I, as an Uchiha, will show him what it means to be an elite."

Naruto grit his teeth at the emo's arrogance. How could a genin be so cocky. While he might be a genin too, at least he trains alot and didn't let it affect his behavior.

"Shut up Sasuke-teme! We need a strategy. Shikamaru is calculating how to win. He's probably going to let Neji attack one of us while he holds the other off. We need to work together if we want to win." Naruto said calmly, with an edge of irritation in his voice.

"I don't need you or any of your team strategies, Dobe. I can win this on my own." Sasuke smugly replied.

Naruto shook his head and looked at his two combatants, focusing on what to do for his first move.

"Hajime!"

Sasuke charged towards Neji while Naruto charged to the side, hoping to go for a flank.

On the opposite side, Neji held his stance, waiting for his prey, while Shikamaru moved to intercept Naruto.

Naruto made contact first, and went for a quick jab to Shikamaru's left arm, but he was blocked and Shikamaru countered with a strike with his right fist, but Naruto dodged around it and made his own move.

As that fight continued on, Sasuke reached his target and began going at him with quick attacks, but was overwhelmed when Neji blocked all of his attacks and went on the offensive. Sasuke sneered and continued to try to hit the pale eyed boy, but was unsuccessful, and was getting hit at his joints and arms as a cost.

Everyone watched the two mock fights with interest.

Sasuke was skilled. There was no doubt about that, as he was the rookie of the year, but so was Neji, who also had a year more experience in the field then he did.

There was also the fact that the Uchiha fighting style, known as the geigeki ken (interceptor fist), relied on attacking the enemy when they opened their defenses by seeing where they would make their next move.

But there was one thing that Sasuke didn't have that made it incomplete. The most important part needed to use this taijutsu style. The Sharingan. Without it, he couldn't predict the Hyuuga's next move, making it hard to keep up with him.

Naruto and Shikamaru were also fighting pretty well, but it was obvious that Naruto was going to win.

While his taijutsu still needed alot of work, it was making good progress, and it was obvious as he cut through the Nara's defense.

Kurenai watched her students spar in approval. They had made great progress. Shikamaru was more driven then ever. She even got a letter from the Nara matriarch about how proud she was of him and how thankful she was about him being more motivated.

Naruto also made great progress. He was still working on his chakra control, but was making good headway with it. He could stand on water, but only for a short while. He couldn't walk around too much, let alone run either. Regardless, it was alot in a month. His taijutsu also improved from his 'hope I hit something' brawler style to a style that fit him well.

The rest of the genins watched the fight in surprise.

Hinata watched her two teammates with happiness, but was scared of what might happen after one of them was defeated and tried to fight Neji.

Choji was amazed on how much Shikamaru improved. While he heard the usually lazy Nara was more motivated, he had no idea that he put so much effort into his training.

Ino watched both Shikamaru and Naruto with shock. She knew Shikamaru since they were kids because their parents were friends. She always thought he was too lazy to become a ninja, but now here he was, actually putting effort into the fight and moving faster than she ever though he would move in his lazy life.

Then there was Naruto. Naruto, the dobe. The dead last. The loser. Fighting with strength and power, and cutting through Shikamaru's defenses. It made her think about her own skills and question if she should practice more.

Shino analyzed the fight with interest in order to gauge how strong his fellow genin were.

Kiba and Sakura still thought both of them were losers and were more focused on the fight between Neji and Sasuke.

Shikamaru blocked another blow from Naruto right hand, but he was forced to use both arms from the strength of the troublesome blond. At the move, Naruto used it to his advantage and got closer to Shikamaru's defenses, then used an uppercut with his left under the Nara's crossed arms.

Shikamaru stumbled back, and Naruto pushed forward. He dealt heavy and harsh blows, but held back as to not harm his friend to badly.

Shikamaru was overwhelmed and fell onto his back with a dull thump. "Alright *pant*, you got me. I won't *pant* fight anymore, not that I can. Troublesome *pant* blond."

Naruto gave him a cheeky smile. "You did good for a lazy bastard. I'll see you after the fight, but right now, I got to go save the emo from the other guy." With that, Naruto ran off to help in the fight with Neji and Sasuke.

"Like I said *pant*, troublesome blond."

-(line break)-

Sasuke was infuriated with this Hyuuga. He had yet to get a hit on him and had been struck in several joints and chakra points. While it didn't hurt as much due to no chakra being used, it still stung.

He knew that he couldn't last much longer and had to come up with a plan. Neji still had the advantage. Hit after hit, he cut through Sasuke's defenses and was getting too close for comfort. Sasuke realized after blocking a strike to his arm, he left his defenses opened in his midsection and Neji noticed. The Hyuuga trusted his palm forward, going for a strike in the stomach that would knock the Uchiha out. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to keep going if the attack hit him, but then he saw Naruto approaching and knew how to avoid it with at the last second.

Everyone watched in horror as Sasuke disappeared and in his place stood Naruto, with Neji's strike hitting dead center.

Since Naruto was still shorter that Sasuke by a few inches, instead of hitting his diaphragm, it hit the center of his chest, causing Naruto to hunch over in pain. A second later, he began to choke and coughed up blood.

"Stop the Match!" Screamed Kurenai as she ran out to the field to check her student.

Everyone wondered how it happened until they saw Sasuke standing off to the side with a smug smile on his face. Then they realized what he'd done.

Neji stepped back with an impassive face, looking at the downed blond without a look of guilt on his face. As he believed, it was fate that this happened. Fate that the other boy would lose and be injured.

Kurenai got to the now unconscious Naruto and opened the jacket and lifted up his shirt to see a dull red spot over his heart which she could tell would turn into an ugly bruise.

"I have to take him to the hospital to make sure he's alright. It could have damaged his heart. I'll be back later." She then turned to the smirking Sasuke. "And I will punish those who injure comrades on purpose, accordingly."

-(line break)-

After Kurenai took Naruto to get checked out, Kakashi reprimanded Sasuke on his behavior during a taijutsu spar and told him he was not allowed to compete in the rest of the exercise, but didn't seem to punish him. Asuma asked why he wouldn't punish him, only to be told that Kurenai would do it, so there was no reason for him to.

That set off warning bells in Asuma's head. It was obvious that Kakashi was lazy with his students, but to let Sasuke get away with something like that was inexcusable. He would probably have to report this to his old man.

Hinata and Shikamaru were angered at not only Sasuke, but at his sensei, Kakashi, for letting him get away with it. They would make sure to tell Kurenai-sensei about this. They left immediately after hearing the silver haired jounin's reasons to go check on Naruto.

The rest of the genins, bar Neji, seemed more cautious around Sasuke after that.

Nevertheless, the events continued, but they were more somber and less energetic as before. In the end, Neji won, but did not accept the prize, saying how he was fated to win and how no prize was necessary when he already knew he was to be the victor, leaving everyone to wonder where he got that attitude from or what the mystery prize was.

Some were still hung up about what Sasuke did and why he was so ready to sacrifice another for a chance to win.

-(line break)-

"You're very lucky, the impact won't leave any permanent damage to your heart or ribs, but the impact will leave the center of your chest tender and weak for the next few weeks." The young female doctor said to Kurenai and Naruto.

Kurenai looked over at her student, who was now laying down on the hospital bed with bandaged around his frame. She was angered at the Uchiha genin for not only breaking the rules of only taijutsu, but knowingly harming another student. Her student. She would make sure he was punished after she was positive Naruto was alright.

Naruto listened to the doctor as he thought about what happened. One second, he was running towards Neji from behind to catch him by surprise, then next he was in front of him with a palm hitting him in the chest, after that, all he remembers was pain and blood. Then nothing.

"Alright, thank you Isha-san (1)." Kurenai said.

"Call me Hira (2). I've helped Naruto hear with cuts and bruises since he was a toddler. Always getting into trouble, that one." She said as she pushed her glasses up.

Naruto blushed alittle bit at that. He would often need to get helped with injuries after messing up a prank or when a couple people would try to attack him.

"I'll be back later to check up on him. Make sure to not let him pull at the bandages or poke his injuries." Hira then turned and walked out of the small hospital room.

Kurenai stepped towards her genin and put a hand on his knee. "Everything is going to be fine Naruto-kun. Don't let this affect how you develop as a ninja." Naruto smiled and looked up at his teacher.

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei, I won't. But what happened? All I remember is running towards Neji, then I'm in front of him with his hand on my chest." Naruto noticed that Kurenai-sensei tensed up and wondered what actually happened.

"Did I do something?" He asked quietly.

Her posture softened and she sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were charging towards Hyuuga when the Uchiha." She spat out. "Noticed you. He saw that he was not going to win, so he kiwarimi-ed with you so he could escape, leaving you to take the blow meant for him." She growled.

Naruto was shocked. He was used like a cheap tool by Sasuke so the bastard wouldn't get hurt. Then again, he did belittle him all the time, and would insult anyone he wanted. But to use him for a quick escape made Naruto think of Sasuke in a new light.

At first, he thougt they could be rivals, maybe friends in the future, but he always made fun of him in the academy. Now this. It was obvious that Sasuke-teme didn't care about him at all. Maybe even hated him.

"What should I do?" Naruto asked.

"You? You should rest. And stay away from the Uchiha. Don't go picking a fight with him." Kurenai ordered.

"You don't have to tell me twice." He muttered. If Sasuke didn't care about him, then he should do the same. "But what about Sasuke? What will happen to him after what he did?"

"I'll be punishing him accordingly, but I'm sure Kakashi will also punish his genin." Kurenai stated.

"I wouldn't be so sure sensei." A voice said. Both Naruto and Kurenai turned their heads to the door to see Shikamaru standing in the doorway with a shy Hinata standing behind him.

"Hey Shika, hey Hinata-chan. How are you guys?" Naruto asked

"We should be asking you the same thing." Shikamaru said with a small smile.

"Are you a-alright Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be good as new in a few days."

"Weeks." Kurenai corrected.

"Same thing."

Kurenai rolled her eyes at her student's stubbornness. She then turned to Shikamaru. "What do you mean by your statement from earlier. Did Kakashi not give a harsh punishment?"

Shikamaru snorted. "More like no punishment at all."

"What?!" Naruto and Kurenai yelled.

"Yeah, Kakashi only scolded Sasuke and told him that he wasn't allow to compete for the rest of the exercise. We listened in when Asuma-sensei asked Kakashi why he didn't punish Sasuke, and he all he said was that you would do it." Shikamaru scoffed out. The fact that a jonin had a blantant lack of care to one of his students injuring another comrad brought him down on the list of respected ninja in Shikamaru's book.

Kurenai couldn't believe it. Her student was injured and could have been crippled, and all Kakashi did was take him out of the exercise. And to think that the silver haired jonin's motto was about respecting and taking care of your teammates. She would have a word with the Uchiha and his sensei, and it would not be pretty.

"So I get hurt and Sasuke-teme gets off scot free?!" Naruto yelled.

"No Naruto-kun. Like I said, I will be giving Sasuke a proper punishment for what he did." Kurenai said while smiling sweetly, thinking of everything she could do to those two.

Team 8 shuddered and could only imagine what she had in mind for Sasuke. Naruto was the first to recover.

"Regardless of Sasuke-teme's imminent demise, it was really nice of you guys to come see me." He said while smiling. Shikamaru and Hinata stepped up to the side of his bed with care evident on their faces.

"Pfft, why wouldn't we come. We're teammates. Not only that, but friends. We can't just stand by while one of our friends gets hurt." Shikamaru said before smirking. "Besides, we can't have our motivator out of commission. Who knows what could happen to Team 8."

"I agree w-with Shikamaru. We need you on the team... I-I n-need you o-on the team." Hinata stuttered out.

Naruto smiled gratefully at his teammates. They were the best thing to happen to him since he got his Jiji. He couldn't help but to let his eyes get wet at their care for him. "You guys are the best." He jumped up and hugged them both around the neck, causing the Nara to roll his eyes and Hinata to blush, and they both hugged back.

Kurenai watched her team with joy. Now she was definitely happy with what she got. Naruto was a great influence on them, and they were there for him. They worked great together and stood by one another. Team 8 was a team she could tell would be ready for anything. Perhaps even for the chunin exams coming up in a few months.

Nevertheless, they would do well together and seemed to have already bonded.

Now the only thing on Yuhi Kurenai's mind was a certain Uchiha and his lazy sensei.

((End Chapter 7))

Sneak peak of next chapter:

"What the hell is this! I pay for protection and I get three runts and a woman! The pineapple kid looks like he would rather sleep than fight, the little girl looks like she'll faint if she sees her own shadow, and the little blondy looks like he's on crack!"

Kurenai's hand hovered over the knife on her belt but stopped herself. The occupants of the room heard her muttering something over and over again.

"Senile old man, don't kill. Senile old man, don't kill. Senile old man, don't kill."

Naruto didn't know if he should be offended or not, so he turned to the Hokage. "Jiji, what's crack?"

The Hokage's eyes bulged out of his head. "N-Nothing you need to concern yourself with Naruto-kun!" He half yelled as he frantically waved his hands back and forth.

(1) Isha : Doctor

(2) Hira : Healer (good name for her (*w*))

Yay! Another chapter finished! Please tell me what you think of the story and it's development.

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Thanks for readings. Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8: Off To Wave!

Hello Reader! Another Chapter! It's shorter than the others, but the next chapter will be longer and better. I had to get this one out.

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*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 8: Off to Wave!

After the fiasco with Sasuke, Kurenai decided that Team 8 would no longer go to the team exercises, at least for now. She wanted her students to get stronger without having to reveal their new tricks to other genin. That and her team didn't want to see team 7 for awhile.

Naruto, Shikamaru and Hinata didn't mind, as it gave them more time to work on teamwork and control.

They took the next month to get stronger and clean up their weaknesses. Each one focusing on their techniques and abilities that could benefit the team.

Shikamaru managed to bring his chakra levels up more, and it seemed to reflect in his motivation. He trained harder than any Nara ever had. Maybe that was why the Naras were so lazy, because they had such low reserves.

Regardless, Shikamaru now had low chunin reserves, which was a major improvement in a span of two months. He used his new levels to increase the amount of time he could hold people in a bind. Lets just say that he is not to be underestimated anymore.

Kurenai gave him an affinity test and found he had fire and earth, a power combination. She gave him the Doton: Doryuuheki no Jutsu (Earth style: Earth wall jutsu).

Shikamaru quickly deduced that he could make walls to produce more shadows, giving him more of a chance to use his shadow bund techniques. All in all, Kurenai was pleased.

Hinata was stuttering less and less each day. They made great progross on her social skills, but seemed to revert back often after coming back from the Hyuuga Compound. Kurenai wanted to know what was going on, but since it was a clan affair, she had no access to that information.

Despite that, Hinata learned all of the water walking exercise, and was now allowed to learn her first jutsu, but she refused, saying how the Hyuuga would not allow her to learn 'lesser' techniques.

Kurenai, despite being upset at the Hyuuga clan, still tested the girl and found she had lightning and water, which was a major surprise to the Jonin, as most Hyuuga gave earth as a main affinity. It was basically a complete opposite of most Hyuuga, who had fire or earth. Perhaps she gained it from her mother.

Because of his injuries from the fight, the Blond was not allowed to do anything too physically demanding, so Kurenai got him on chakra control for the first two weeks.

It was slow, but Naruto was working on the kunai balance exercise now and was having difficulty with it, but he didn't give up. He could levitate the kunai for a second before his control faltered and it went shooting up. He still had a long way to go to tame his wild reserves.

Because of his two weeks of hard work without any harsh physical training, Kurenai decided to give him his first jutsu. After giving Naruto an affinity test, Kurenai was astound by how much of a water affinity he had with his wind affinity, but judging by the blond's face, he already knew.

It wad probably why he could make so many water clones. Easier to control your own element after all.

She gave him Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water style: Water bullet jutsu), and he took to it like a fish to water. He practiced all the time with it and while he had trouble with it at first, he managed to create bigger and faster bullets the more he used it.

He and Shikamaru had not completely perfected their new techniques, but they still trained to get them into muscle memory, Naruto especially.

All in all, the team was doing fantastic and was probably the best new genin team in circulation, with team 10 behind them, then 4, and lastly 7.

Speaking of Team 7, the members of it weren't very happy about the punishment that was given to their sensei and 'the last Uchiha'. Asuma apparently reported to the Hokage about Kakashi's lack of care of Naruto's injury.

The Hokage was furious and called in Teams 7, 8, 9, and 10 to find out the whole story.

—flashback—

"So let me clarify everything: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, and Shikamaru Nara were all in a taijutsu spar. Sasuke and Naruto were placed on a team together versus Neji and Shikamaru. The two teams then split off and each got an opponent from the other team, with Naruto vs Shikamaru, and Neji vs Sasuke. Am I correct as of now?" The Hokage asked.

There was a collective group of nods before he started again.

"Then after defeating his opponent, Naruto ran to assist Sasuke, his teammate at the time, with his opponent.

Sasuke was having difficulty winning and saw an attack that he could not defend against coming his way. Instead of taking the hit, he sees Naruto running towards him and decides to use his teammate to take the blow for him, not caring of the consequences of his actions, which results in Naruto taking a hit to the chest, injuring him. Is that true aswell?"

There was yet another session of nods, though some more hesitant and nervous than others. Especially from team 7. The Hokage did not seem happy, judging by the scowl building on his face.

"After all this, Kurenai takes Naruto to the hospital, leaving Sasuke with a warning for punishment. And instead of punishing his own student, his sensei simply reprimands Sasuke on his actions but does nothing to punish him for not only cheating in a taijutsu spar, but also using a teammate, a comrad, to take the blow for him. Did I miss anything?"

Most shook their heads 'no'. No one said anything other then some mutterings about Naruto spitting up blood and Sasuke's smug look afterward.

All in all, the Hokage was not pleased with his ninja.

"Then it is settled. I have thought about this punishment, and I believe it is appropriate for what happened." The Hokage stood up in front of his ninja with seriousness written all over his face.

"Sasuke Uchiha. For your actions against your comrade Naruto Uzumaki, I hereby place you on parole for 3 months. You will be watched by one of my ANBU and he will report to me whenever you commit another unsavory act against a person or try to start a fight against Naruto. You will not be allowed to go on any missions other than D-Rank for that time. You will also pay compensation to Naruto for what has happened." Sasuke glared at the Hokage with hatred of being held back.

The Hokage leveled a glare at the Uchiha, making the boy reconsider his actions. "And if I find out you do anything malevolent or treasonous, then you will be removed from the Shinobi corps and your Chakra sealed."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the last statement and screamed at the Sandaime. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I'M AN UCHIHA! I NEED MY CHAKRA TO AVENGE MY CLAN!" He demanded.

The Hokage leveled a glare at the Uchiha with Killing Intent, causing the boy to falter and stumble back.

"You do not tell me what to do. I may be old, but I am the leader of this village and all the ninja in it. That includes you, Uchiha. I fought in wars before you were even born or thought of. Do not command me as if I am a civilian that will bend to your will. Do you understand." He said coldly, still terrifying the young black haired boy, who could only nod inaudibly, as words were not able to form for him at the moment.

"Hokage-sama. Not that I disrespect your decision, but don't you think that's alittle harsh. He is, after all, still a genin, and a young one at that." Kakashi said, hoping to defend his student.

The Hokage wasn't having any of it though and glared at Kakashi. "I have not forgotten about you, Kakashi. I have reports of your negligence for your students. Your team has the lowest efficiency rate out of any team this year, not to mention that you failed to tell me about what happened. You also didn't do anything to punish your student for an act that could cripple one of my shinobi." Kakashi looked sheepish, but it didn't show much from under his mask.

"Kurenai said that she would be punishing Sasuke. It didn't seem fair that one of my students would be punished twice for once problem." He said lazily.

Everyone looked at Kakashi as if he had grown a second head. Did he really think something like this was a joke?

Naruto, Shikamaru, and even Hinata were angered that he had such little care for Naruto's life.

Choji, Shino, and surprisingly Kiba were thinking along the lines how careless this guy was and were thanking the Sage of the Six Paths that he wasn't their sensei.

Sasuke was still furious about his own punishment, and was too focused on it to care about his sensei's problems.

Sakura was mad that all this was happening because of Naruto-baka. It was his fault that Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei were getting in alot of trouble.

Ino was ashamed of her sensei. He didn't help her at all since she graduated, and while it may have been her fault for not taking it seriously, he never trained them on anything other than teamwork.

The Hokage shook his head at the jonin's declaration. "Kakashi. You should be punished aswell for your actions. Just because Kurenai said she would punish Sasuke does not excuse his behavior as your student. The way you protect him from a punishment he deserves shows you have a lack of care for anything other than your own interest.

So I give you a warning. If I have another incident like this, you will be demoted and your team will be stripped from you and given to your assistant, Mitarashi Anko. She has wanted a team for some time, and would be more than happy to take over. Understand?" The Hokage asked stoically.

Kakashi could only nod silently before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. The Hokage turned his attention to the jonins and genins in the room.

"That is all. Remember what has happened here today. I do not tolerate conflict among comrades. This village was built on teamwork and that is how it will remain standing. You are all dismissed."

—flashback end—

After that, Team 7 stayed away from them, but sometimes, Sasuke would look and glare at Naruto before walking away, most likely with an ANBU tailing him.

Team 8 ignored any outside problems and focused on its own members, who decided to get to know each other better. Trading stupid information like what their favorite colors were or if the like ramen or not.

They even started doing activities as a group to bond, taking time to get to know each other personally. They took time to do things that they could all enjoy like playing Shogi or bonding over their love of plants.

Naruto and Hinata talked to Kurenai about certain herbs that helped with Healing Balms and they began to include Shikamaru in the conversions too.

He was lost usually, but he managed to understand what they were talking about after they explained some plants to him

They also got into playing board games as a form of mental training. They played several, but mainly Shogi, much to Shikamaru's appreciation.

Naruto lost every game, but he also had the strangest tactics any of them had ever seen. Some even came close to working, but they failed at the end due to miscalculations, so he continued to lose. He lost every game but got better as he practiced.

Despite their growth, Team 8 still had to do demeaning D-rank missions, and they really grated on Naruto's nerves.

Dog walking, Babysitting, Gardening, Catching cats.

They weren't missions, they were chores. And they were annoying to them. Well, all except the gardening.

And that's where they were at the moment, returning from catching Tora the cat.

Naruto handed off the cat to the Diamyo's wife sporting several cuts on his face. The woman then squeezed the cat so tight that it looked like it would pop, that being the hope of Team 8.

"Team 8, reporting a mission success Hokage-sama." Kurenai stated, while looking at the bane of Konoha being slowing squished to death.

"Thank you Kurenai." The Hokage stated. "Your team finished the mission early, so you could probably take another today. The Inuzuka kettles need to be cleaned, the Hanashi family needs someone to babysit their daughter-"

"No Tora-chan! Come back to mama!" Screamed the Diamyo's wife as she ran towards the dashing little demon.

"Or you can catch Tora again." The Hokage sighed out. Naruto wasn't having any of it though.

"Not to be rude or anything Jiji, but can't we do a harder mission. The D-rank missions are too easy and it's starting to get annoying."

"Naruto." Iruka said from the side of the Hokage. "You can't go on a hard mission yet. You became a genin two months ago. While you may have improved, that doesn't mean you are ready for mission outside the village. There are bandits, rogue nin, and other village ninja. You could get injured or even killed." The chunin explained, hoping to stop the boy from doing something reckless.

"But we've gotten really strong. My taijutsu and chakra control are way better than they were when I first started and my teammates have gotten strong too! Please Jiji." The blond looked at his grandfather figure with a pleading look.

Hiruzen thought about the amount of growth team 8 had gone through. With Kurenai's stubborn regime and Naruto's no quit attitude, the whole team was jumping leaps and bounds in strength.

Even Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father, came in and asked what happened to his son and the new change of attitude. Apparently the boy spent most of his time studying new uses for shadow techniques and training rather than sleeping and cloud watching. He still did it, but he had more motivation than Shikaku had ever seen in a Nara. Well, at least Yoshino (1) was happy.

"Well." The Sandaime started, getting everyone's attention. "I do believe that Team 8 has worked hard and deserves a higher mission. How would a C-Rank sound to you, Kurenai?"

Kurenai looked at her team, all of them looking at her with suspense, and turned back to the Hokage." I do believe that Team 8 has gained enough strength for a C-Rank mission."

The Hokage nodded and pressed a button on his desk. "Please send in Tazuna."

The group didn't have to wait long, as an old man wearing a straw hat with a sake bottle in his hand strutted in sluggishly. He had a pack on his back and glasses over his eyes that didn't help him look any younger.

The man wiped his face of any excess alcohol and looked at the group of people in front of that were assigned to guard him. He then turned to the Hokage with anger written all over his face.

"What the hell is this! I pay for protection and I get three runts and a woman! The pineapple kid looks like he would rather sleep than fight, the little girl looks like she'll faint if she sees her own shadow, and the little blondy looks like he's on crack!"

Kurenai's hand hovered over the knife on her belt but stopped herself. The occupants of the room heard her muttering something over and over again.

"Senile old man, don't kill. Senile old man, don't kill. Senile old man, don't kill."

Naruto didn't know if he should be offended or not, so he turned to the Hokage. "Jiji, what's crack?"

The Hokage's eyes bulged out of his head. "N-Nothing you need to concern yourself with Naruto-kun!" He half yelled as he frantically waved his hands back and forth.

Naruto looked at the client. "So what do you do old man?" He asked curiously. The old man smiled at the blond and pointed to himself with his thumb.

"I'm Tazuna, the Super Bridge Builder of Wave country!"

Naruto looked at the bridge builder with excitement. "That's cool. So who's trying to kill ya?"

The room went silent, as did Tazuna who looked at the kid with shock. "W-what do you mean kid?" Everyone, including Team 8, Iruka and the Hokage looked at Naruto as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if we're suppose to protect you like you said, then that means that someone wants the kill you. So who is it? ? A pervert? A gambler? A pedophile?"

At that moment, the three Sannin of Konoha all sneezed.

The man looked scared and tried to clear the evident hangover before cooling off. He looked at Naruto with a sheepish smile and answered. "Nah. I don't trust the roads sometimes. There are people that will try to rob you if they get the chance. So I hired some protection." He said nervously.

Everyone outside of Team 8's genin were now suspicious of what was going on. It seemed odd how he reacted, and that he would hire help for no reason. Something fishy was going on.

The Hokage ignored it for now sighed as he looked at Team 8 and Tazuna. "Yes. Well now that you have met, you all understand what is going on and who is protecting Tazuna. This is your first C-Rank mission. I expect a lot out of all of you. Good luck." He then dismissed Team 8 as they all nodded their heads.

After exiting the Hokage tower, Team 8 all turned to Tazuna. "When do you wish to leave, Tazuna-san." Kurenai asked somewhat coldly, still angry at the woman comment.

He took the hint and got nervous. "W-well, we need to leave in an hour. I got to head back to wave and finish my bridge there." He said

Kurenai nodded. "Very well. Team 8, report to the south gate in one hour."

With that, Team 8 dispersed, leaving Tazuna to wonder what he got himself into.

Naruto jumped from building rooftops and landed at the southern entrance of Konoha to see Hinata and Shikamaru already there. "Hey guys. You ready for our first C-Rank mission together?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah I got my stuff ready in a few minutes and my mom wished me luck."

Shikamaru decided not to tell them about how his mother congratulated him on his success as a ninja. He found it embarrassing.

"What about you Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Said girl blushed and looked down. "W-well I got my things together, a-and my father told me not t-to fail." She said quietly.

Shikamaru and Naruto looked at each other. They knew that her home life wasn't very nice, but they could never get her to talk about it. That didn't stop them from trying from time to time.

Naruto decided to take a different approach and tried to cheer her up.

"Well, I'm really excited! It's my first time outside the village, so I can't wait to see how strong we are compared to other ninja or bandits." Naruto said with confidence. His little idea worked, as his teammates smiled at his infectious attitude.

They didn't have much time to talk before they saw Kurenai walking along side Tazuna, who looked more sober than before.

"Ohayo Sensei!"

Kurenai looked at her students and saw that they all looked prepared. Each one sporting a pack that she hoped had everything they would need. "Are all of you sure you have everything for trip. It will take a few days to reach wave and watching over Tazuna-san even longer." The three all nodded.

"Good, then lets get a move on. We have a long way to go." The group of Team 8 plus one half drunk client all depart for their journey to wave, unaware of what is to come from the supposed 'easy C-Rank mission'.

Yay! Done!

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See you next time.


	9. Chapter 9: Expect the Unexpected

Hello my readers, and thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Let me know what you think.

Please Follow and review. Now lets get started with the new chapter!

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 9: Expect the Unexpected

A several hours later:

Team 8 was walking down the path towards wave, making conversation with one another.

Hinata would talk to Kurenai about healing techniques and plants that were good in teas and drinks.

Shikamaru would converse with Naruto when said blond wasn't asking Tazuna questions.

"So what's Wave Country like?" Naruto asked.

Tazuna looked down at the short blond. "Well, Wave country is a beautiful country. We exported and imported to all the major villages and were known for a our harbors. It was beautiful until..." the old man seemed to trail off, now looking up at the clear blue sky above them. Naruto wondered what could have happened to the old man's home.

The rest of Team 8 were also curious. Last time Kurenai heard, Wave was doing quite well for itself, and controlled most shipping industries in the area.

"If you don'r mind me asking, Tazuna-san." Kurenai asked. "What happened to Wave?"

Tazuna looked down at his sake bottle before taking another long gulp. He shook his head and wiped the alcohol from his lips and sighed. "Wave has been going through... a tough time, if you could call it that. We're in a bit of a bind, so we need my bridge built so we can get more shipping done."

He sighed and took another swig. "The open waters aren't so safe anymore."

Kurenai nodded, trying to put all the pieces together. It was obvious to her that Tazuna was not telling them the whole story.

The group continued down the path. Naruto looked around with glee, as he had never been this far from the village. He gazed back down at the path and noticed on the side of the road that there was a puddle.

'Has it rained at all these past few weeks?' He asked himself. 'And why is there just one puddle? Shouldn't there be more if it rained around here?'

He then looked up and saw that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Something seemed off to him, so he edged his way closer to Shikamaru as they walked. He got right along side the lazy Nara and decided to voice his concerns.

"Yo Shika." He said quietly. "Did you see the puddle?" Shikamaru sighed and looked at Naruto without turning his head. "Yeah, I noticed. It looks like it's a genjutsu. I sensed two people inside it. We should be ready for an ambush. There may be more up ahead."

Naruto nodded at the information. He wished he could tell that it was a genjutsu, but he still had trouble with it, especially with seeing them. 'Looks like more training is needed.' He thought bitterly.

Both Naruto and Shikamaru relayed their info to Hinata and Kurenai, who also noticed, and they were all on high alert, waiting for when the assailants would attack.

They didn't have to wait long, as out of nowhere, Kurenai was suddenly bound up in chains, stopping the group from moving. They all watched in horror as two men wearing Kiri headbands jumped out of the trees and pulled the chains, ripping their sensei apart.

"One down. Four to go." Whispered one of the assailants.

Naruto was ready to freak out, but he managed to quickly relax when he saw that the chunks of his sensei were actually butterflies, which proceeded to fly away. He strengthened his resolve, knowing that his sensei was probably alive and just hiding somewhere.

Naruto looked up to see the two men in dark clothing charging at the rest of them and he quickly flashed through hand-signs. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A dozen Narutos all formed into existence out of the water in the air and spread out. It seemed to startle their opponents alittle bit. They all then charged, in an attempt to confuse the enemy.

It seemed to have worked, as the two were forced to release the 'bloody' chain and defend themselves from the small horde of blond ninjas.

Shikamaru and Hinata jumped into action as well, each taking on a ninja for themselves. Shikamaru went forward with the real Naruto to finish off the enemy ninja, who were now getting tired from having to fight half a dozen Nautos each. Hinata jumped back and assumed her Hyuuga stance to protect a shocked Tazuna from the enemy. She was the main line of defense against any attack that came at the client.

Naruto summoned several more clones to help hold off the two fighters, hoping to give Shikamaru a chance to capture one of them them.

Naruto charged in and attacked one of the fighters using his water strike taijutsu while his clones went after the other. Naruto and the twin horned fighter traded blows, but it was obvious that while the enemy had more training, Naruto had more raw power and resolve. Naruto avoided or blocked against his opponent's attacks, making sure to avoid the razor sharp claws at the end of the man's left arm. Luckily the gauntlet seemed to be heavy, so it was not too hard to counter for the blond.

He would wait and exploited the openings in the Kiri ninja's attacks, then used strong and harsh strikes at the man's joints and chest. It seemed to work, as the man would wince under his mask when he tried to maneuver certain ways, while also pissing him off, making him try harder to kill Naruto.

"Why are you attacking our client?!" Naruto demanded as he ducked under neath a clawed gauntlet aimed for his head.

"That is for us to know and for you to die slowly!" the demon horned man said as he went for another slash at Naruto, who jumped back to avoid it. The attack was cut short though, as the man suddenly stopped mid attack, as if frozen in time.

"Kageshibari no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) success" called out a familiar voice. Naruto to see Shikamaru, who was in the bushes a few feet from the fight, with shadows extending from his feet to the enemy's. Naruto gave a big smile to the use to be lazy Nara. "Way to go Shika!" He half yelled as he gave a thumbs up. The Nara then put his hands behind his back, as did the ninja who was forced to copy the move, and Naruto started binding the mans hands together with rope from his bag.

"Yo boss! We got the other one down over here!" Naruto turned to see about half a dozen clones all surrounding a worn out and beaten Kiri ninja.

The frozen one looked at his partner in horror. "Brother!" He turned his attention to Naruto, who was still tying his hands, with obvious anger written on his face." When I get out of this ridiculous bind, I will kill you slowly for what you did to my kin."

"The only thing you will be doing is telling us who sent you." said a female voice. Team 8 all knew who it was and looked up to see where the voice came from.

Kurenai took this moment to step out of the canopy of the tree she was hiding in. She smiled down at her students then jumped down elegantly, landing right in front of the team and bewildered client. "Good job team. It was good to know that you all could handle yourselves in a fight like that. I was prepared to jump in when it was needed, but I'm glad that I didn't have to."

Naruto smiled widely at the compliment, and so did Shikamaru and Hinata, but not near as much as their energetic teammate.

After knocking both of them unconscious, Naruto and his clones tied up the two immobile fighters to a tree. while Kurenai flipped through a small pocket book. Shikamaru and Hinata stayed close to the client, just in case of another attack.

Kurenai finished flipping through her book and slowly walked over to the two tied up fighters. She saw they were still unconscious and it might take awhile to wake them. "*sigh*, Naruto, could you please assist me with waking these two up?" Naruto didn't needed to be told twice, as he smiled and flashed through several quick handsigns. "Suiton, Suidan no Jutsu (Water Bullet Jutsu)!"

A small water shot hit both the ninja in the face, startling them and forcing them to wake up. They looked around and saw that they were now tied up. Before they had a chance to think of escaping, Kurenai walked up to them stoically.

"Gozu and Meizu, otherwise known as the Demon brothers. Low Chunin ranked ninja who specialize in team assassination using poison gauntlets and a shuriken chain. Wanted in Kiri as missing nin. Tend to work for other clients. As of now, known to have worked for Demon of the Bloody Mist, Momochi Zabuza, A rank missing nin. Would you mind explaining anything to me, or shall I have to resort to other means to get information?" She demanded coldly.

"You can go to hell you leaf headed whore. We won't tell you a damn thing." Meizu snarled out. "I agree with my brother. We would rather die than release any info on who hired us." The other brother known as Gozu said, but more coldly than his sibling.

Kurenai simply smiled sweetly at them. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

-;-;-;-;-;-;-

The two ninja told Kurenai everything and where now waiting for other ninja to capture them and arrest them.

Team 8 and Tazuna were curious as to how Kurenai got the brothers to give up the info. She shooed them away before she did it. When the three genin plus old man returned, they saw two brothers awkwardly holding each other while still bound, bawling their eyes out, and Kurenai walking away from them slowly with a sickly sweet smile on her face.

They would forever question what she did while also being careful to not piss her off. They wouldn't want that, whatever it was, to happen to them.

Kurenai questioned Tazuna about what he was hiding, and he tried to brush it off, but after being pushed alittle more by the still smiling Kurenai, he hesitantly confessed that Wave was under the control of a terrible business man named Gato. Gato forced his home country into submission by buying up most businesses in the area, and starving out the country as he drained its resources.

He explained how he and the rest of his village only had enough money for a C- Rank mission, and that he knew that if he didn't have protection, he would be killed by Gato's men. Kurenai nodded her head, understanding what he meant, judging by what had just happened. While she knew that while she was not suppose to, it was only right to help Tazuna. But then again, if they were facing someone like Gato, who had big connections to mercenaries and dangerous missing nin, her genins could get hurt, or worse, die. She shook her head at tazuna and explained that they might now be able to take the mission, as it was too dangerous for a new team such as them.

Naruto stepped in and pleaded for Kurenai to let them finish the mission. She explained her reasons to the blond, but he wasn't having any of it, and told her that he wanted to complete his first real mission. Along with support from both Shikamaru and a shy Hinata, Kurenai knew that her team wanted to do this for the 'poor old man'.

Kurenai looked down at the ground and put her hand on her chin to think about the options. While her team had made great strides in strength, she didn't think they were ready for a jonin ranked missing nin. Too many ninja have died trying to fight someone above their level of skill. But if they gave up the mission, then Tazuna could die, and an entire country could suffer. After thinking for what felt like ages, Kurenai decided it would be best to send a message back explaining what happened and that her team would be finishing the mission, but asking for assistance aswell.

She looked up and told Tazuna that Team 8 would continue the mission. The acceptance of continuing had Tazuna crying tears of joy and profusely apologizing for the woman comment he made to Kurenai earlier that day. Naruto jumped into the air with excitement. Shikamaru and Hinata smiled and laughed a little at their teammate's antics and knew he had just gotten them into a very dangerous situation.

Kurenai pulled out some paper from her bag and wrote a note explaining everything and the need for help on a mission that should be considered an A-Rank. She tied up the scrolled paper and bit her thumb, letting the blood droplets fall to the ground. Everyone wondered what she was doing until she screamed out "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".

The area was blanketed with smoke, forcing everyone to look away. After a moment, Naruto, Shikamaru, Tazuna, and Hinata all turned to see a butterfly the size of a dog, with beautiful wings that shimmered like a transitioning rainbow, hovering by Kurenai.

"Hello Kurenai-san. What is it that you need of me?" A feminine voice said. "Hello Chou-san." Said Kurenai. "I'm glad that you came. I need you to take this to the Hokage and that it is urgent that he reads it." She handed to tied scroll to the large butterfly, who then used one of its claws to grip it. "I will come back to you with the Hokage's answer as soon as I can, Kurenai-san." Said the beautiful butterfly.

Chou then poofed away, leaving a confused Team 8 and old man to look at Kurenai with surprise. "Kurenai-sensei! What was that thnig?!" Yelled Naruto.

"That was my summon. I have a contract with the butterfly clan, and as such, I am able to summon them when I need them for objectives or combat." Kurenai explained.

"Oooh.. So like Jiji's monkeys?" Naruto asked as he started to get what she was saying. Kurenai looked at Naruto with surprise, as did everyone, except Tazuna, who was still confused.

"You met the Third's summons?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, the Monkey King Enma or whatever. I tried to give him a banana but he wasn't amused by it." Team 8 sweatdropped at the blond's usual antics.

It was at that moment that Chou returned with a poof of smoke. "Kurenai-san, the Hokage said he would send a team to catch up with you as soon as possible, and to avoid confrontation with any other ninja if possible." Kurenai nodded.

"Thank you Chou-san. You are free to leave." The butterfly nodded and poofed away once more. Kurenai turned to her team and Tazuna.

"Alright everyone, you heard that, right? We are still moving, but I want all of you to be vigilant as we head there. We are still about alittle more than two days away from Wave, so we will keep moving with haste, but be ready in case we face more enemies or if reinforcements show up." Everyone nodded and they continued to Wave, with Naruto now asking questions about Kurenai's summons or about Gato.

-;-;-;-;-;-

Sarutobi reported back to Kurenai through her summon and checked his roster to find any teams available for the mission. Sadly, most teams of chunin or jonin were busy at the moment, or getting ready for the exams coming up in Konoha soon. That left his genin teams.

Team 4 was a good option, but he heard that two of their genin were injured. It happened after a roof collapsed during a mission to fix up old houses in the red light district. That meant they were out as an option.

Team 9 was on an escort mission for a paranoid merchant, so they were out.

That left Team 10. He knew that they were not ready, and even if there were, they could not face a jonin ninja. And who was to say there were not more ninja that this 'Gato' had hired. That meant he had only one option, and he knew he was going to regret it.

-;-;-;-;-;-

Team 10 walked into the Hokage tower, wondering why they were called in. Kiba was kind antsy, and wanted to know if he did something wrong again and would be punished again by his troublesome mom. (Cue Shikamaru sneezing.)

Apparently, after hearing about Kiba's behavior, his mother Tsume was not happy. She punished him for such behavior that shamed the Inuzuka Clan, and put him in anger management class to mellow him out. He complained heavily at first, and fought for a good few weeks about it, but he was mellowing out now, and it seemed to work out for all of Team 10. Now they could complete missions without too much trouble and were getting closer. Though, Kiba would instantly slip back into his old behavior if he got too mad.

They walked into the the Hokage's office to see him sitting at his desk with a serious expression on his face. It must be something important then.

"Thank you for bringing your team Son. I am in need of all of you for a mission, but I think I should wait for the rest of the people I invited to show up first." They wondered who he meant, until Team 7 walked in.

Sasuke had a scowl on his face, obviously still peeved about what happened to him and the punishment he still had.

Ino seemed more irritated then usual, but it was directed at her team, including Sasuke, which confused everyone.

Sakura was still trying to fawn over Sasuke, no surprise.

And lastly, Kakashi was reading a special edition Icha Icha book with a gold seal on it. Asuma and the Hokage knew that they would have to go to the book store in order to get the new copy, which they though wouldn't come out for another few weeks.

Kakashi looked up from his book reluctantly and gave an eye smile to the populous of the room. "Oh, hello everyone. Is my team late?"

The Hokage sighed. "Actually, I told you the time two hours early so you would actually come when I needed you." Sarutobi explained.

The Hokage stood up and looked at the ninja in the room, making sure to get all their attention. "I have called you in because I have received an important report. Early this morning, I sent Team 8 on a C-Rank mission to-"

"Wait! You sent the loser team on a better mission!? Why not give us that mission?! Sasuke-kun is way stronger than any of them!" Sakura yelled out. Everyone was forced to cover their ears at the loud banshee screech that seemed to run in the Haruno family.

"Actually." Shino said coolly, with his bugs buzzing around him with irritation from the scream. "Sasuke-san is still on probation for another two months for what he did during the team exercise. That, and it is proven that Team 8 has the best success ratio of any team of fresh genin. Logic does not lie, which explains why they would be the first to receive a higher mission." He finished, Sasuke didn't seem too happy about his probation being brought up again.

"Thank you, Shino." The Hokage stated gratefully. "As I was saying before I was interrupted," He threw a glare at the pink haired kunoichi, who looked down at her shoes nervously."Team 8 is on a C- Rank mission that is not what it seemed. They encountered two Chunin, the Demon Brothers of Kiri along the way. Luckily, Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto were able to subdue them before they attacked the client." This seemed to get mixed ideas from the genin.

Choji, Shino, Kiba, and even Ino were all wondering how strong the supposed 'losers' have gotten.

Sakura was angered not only that Sasuke didn't get the same chance, but how the losers did it. 'They probably cheated.' She thought to her self, with her inner Sakura saying nothing. Probably not wanting to agree with her.

Sasuke wondered how the losers were able to do it and how they got that power. He needed it so he could avenge his clan, so he supposed he would have to find out for himself the next time he saw them.

"Sadly, they learned that Zabuza Momochi, A- Rank jonin missing nin, is waiting for them. That means that this mission is no longer a C-Rank mission, but a B or A rank. They have called for help in order to save Wave country and complete the bridge that the client is building. I need both Teams 7 and 10 to go there and assist team 8 with the mission." Sasuke smirked, happy that he was not only getting a chance to prove himself against a jonin, but that he was being let off the hook. The Hokage noticed and scowled at the young man.

"Do not think that just because you are allowed to go on this mission that you are off the hook. If I find out that you do anything out of order during the mission, then I will revoke your license as a ninja. Do you understand, Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked coldly. Sasuke gave his angered scowl, but nodded.

"Good." the Hokage stated. "Now make way with haste. I need all of you to catch up with Team 8 and the client before something happens. Good luck." With that they all bowed and made their way to pack and head out to Wave, wondering how their fellow genin are doing on the dangerous C-Rank mission.

-;-;-;-;-;-;-

Several Hours later: Nighttime

Team 8 was setting up camp for the night. Naruto's clones were used as a source of fresh water, Shikamaru collected wood. Hinata and Naruto pitched the tents and set the firepit up. Kurenai was keeping watch for now.

Naruto finished tying up the corner for the last tent and thought about the last few months.

He learned a cool water clone jutsu, passed his exams, fought Mizuki and won, got onto Team 8, passed the second test, got great teammates, got a great sensei, trained like crazy, fought in a team exercise that totally backfired, trained even more, went on annoying D-Ranks, and was now on his first C-Rank mission and he defeated a Chunin rank ninja.

It was amazing. He couldn't help but wonder if he never got the water clone jutsu in the beginning. Probably fail the test again, still be a loser deadlast, still have a crush on Sakura, and never have a chance to have what he did right now.

He walked over to the unlit fire and thought about his team again. Kurenai was the first real teacher to help with all his problems. Iruka was great, but he had to focus on several dozen other students, so he couldn't always be there for him. Kurenai-sensei on the other hand, pushed him to become stronger, helped him find a taijutsu style, helped with his abysmal chakra control, taught him how to be smarter with his decisions, got him on a better diet, and even taught him a cool water jutsu. She was a great teacher. He was glad he got her and not some lazy pervert. (Cue Jiraiya and Kakashi sneezing).

Shikamaru was his sleeping pal in the academy. The same lazy Nara that showed him the wonders of dozing off and cloud-watching. Now he was way stronger and could make rock walls, use shadows without getting tired, and could even run around without complaining about things being troublesome. Well, not that often at least. And best of all, he was a great friend.

Then there was Hinata. She was the team's soft hearted hero. When he first saw her at the academy, he thought she was alittle weird, always stuttering and poking her fingers together. But after meeting her, he couldn't imagine his life without her in it. She was there when he needed her. She helped with chakra techniques when Kurenai wasn't there, helped with plants and how to care for them, made healing balms for any injuries, and always worried about others. That was not to say she wasn't badass though. She could run on water and kick anyone's ass with chakra infused palms when necessary, but she was very passive, so she only did it when her friends were hurt.

"Friends" He said to himself. He had friends now. Not some rivalry like with Sasuke or a crush with Sakura. It was friendship. The one thing he had always strived for, and he realized that he had had it for quite awhile.

Friends with a lazy but motivated Nara, and a shy but cute Hyuuga. 'Wait, did I just call her cute?' he asked himself.

"Yo Naruto, the firepit is better when it's actually on fire." He shook his head quickly and looked up to see Shikamaru and Hinata standing above him. "Oh, sorry guys. I forgot, I have the matches." He went over to his backpack and pulled out his box of matches. "Alright, we have some fish that Naruto's clones picked up from the small river nearby, so I hope your're all hungry." Kurenai said as she walked out of the forest. Everyone nodded, even Tazuna, who was somewhat out of it at the moment after almost dying earlier that day. Naruto walked over to the fire and lit the oil at the bottom, starting it up and cooking the fish that were over it. He stepped back and sat back down, looking back at his teammates and his sensei, with a smile gracing his face. 'Yeah. I'm pretty lucky to have a team like them.'

(End Chapter 9)

Hey everyone, Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Please give me any ideas that you have for an Omake, as i couldn't think of a good one to add for this chapter.

Please Follow and review and let me know what you think.

Until next time, see ya!


	10. Chapter 10: Meeting Up

Another Chapter! Sorry this took so long to post. I was working out college problems, getting a job and had test after test this week.

But that doesn't matter now! New Chapter!

Tell me what you think and if you have any ideas.

NO, this is not a harem, so don't ask!

Yes, Naruto will learn fuinjutsu when he gets back to Konoha.

Please follow and review.

I was told of some flaws in the story that messed up the plotline, making holes where they shouldn't be, so I fixed them. Please continue to read.

*I do not own Naruto or any of its Characters*

Chapter 10: Meeting Up

Naruto walked over to where Hinata should be. It was the middle of night. She was currently on guard duty and it was his turn now. He had to make sure she got some rest, or she might be tired while on the move.

He walked around for a minute, wondering where she was. He didn't want to summon any water clones, as it might cause some noise, so he continued to look for her alone.

After about ten minutes, he was getting worried. He wanted to make sure she got some rest, but she wasn't anywhere. 'That tears it! I don't care, I'm gonna need some back up to find her! What if she was captured?!' He placed his hands in the first seal, ready to flash through them and summon enough help.

"Naruto-kun." Said a timid voice.

Naruto turned around and stared dumbly at who was behind him, only to find it was the teammate he had been looking for.

"Hinata-chan!" He yelled quietly." There you are. Where were you? I was looking all over for you?"

"Y-you were?" She asked, letting her face go a little red. "Why were you looking for m-me?"

"Well, because it's my turn to watch everyone, so I wanted to make sure you got enough rest." He spoke confidently. He looked at her curiously. "By the way, where were you?"

"U-um... I was following you." She said nervously.

"What?"

"I was f-following you. I-I didn't know what you w-were doing at first, so I followed you around. Then I heard y-you calling my name a-and tried to catch up with you."

"Ooooh." There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Naruto smiled at his teammate and walked closer to her. "Well, you should probably get some sleep Hinata-chan. I don't want you to be tired because of me."

"O-Okay, b-but before I go, I-I wanted to show you s-something." She said nervously.

"Sure."

Hinata then jumped silently into the trees, with Naruto following a moment later.

They made it to the top of the tallest tree and Naruto sat down on the closest branch to hear what his teammate had to say. Hinata gestured to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, l-look up."

Naruto did as he was told and found himself staring in shock.

It was beautiful! The sky was filled with shining stars, all glimmering with luster and shine. The sky didn't look like it had a single point not covered with a star. But that was not the best part. The moon was full and glowing, letting the light around it form a halo. It radiated white light onto the canopy of the trees that Hinata and Naruto stood on.

Naruto had never seen anything like this. Konoha had stars. But this was on a whole other level.

"It's beautiful Hinata-chan." He said, still dazed as he looked at the starry night. He would have seen a scarlet blush sneak onto Hinata's face had he been looking at her. She quickly recovered and relaxed, enjoying the night light with her teammate.

They remained like this for a good few minutes until Naruto stood up from the treetop and jumped down. Hinata jumped after him and landed beside him. She didn't have much time before she was enveloped by her crush.

She "eep"ed as Naruto gave her a large but gentle hug. "Thanks for showing me that Hinata-chan. It's amazing." Naruto said softly.

Hinata's blush was going darker and darker by the second as Naruto held onto her.

"Y-you're w-welc-come N-Naruto-k-kun."

Naruto then released Hinata from his hold and watched as she collected herself and the blush dimmed down on her face. 'Why was she blushing? Is she sick? I hope I didn't maker her sick.' But she was looking better after a second, no more blush, so he smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You should head to bed Hinata-chan."

"H-hai."

Hinata then walked pff toward the campsite, thinking about the comments from Naruto . 'And the hug.' She thought gleefully.

"Oi Hinata-chan." Naruto called out.

She turned around to see a smiling Naruto. "I don't know if I ever told you this." He continued. "But I'm really happy you're on my team."

He then jumped into the trees to go do his duty, leaving Hinata with a growing blush her face. She remained standing there for a moment before trying to collect herself. She walked off towards the campsite, mind dancing around at what just happened.

-;-;-;-;-;-;-

Naruto packed up his backpack and tent, making sure to collect everything that he took out. It wouldn't do to leave something behind in the forest.

He grabbed all his equipment and hoisted it onto his back, making sure it would all hold on for the long journey.

"Hey Naruto, you ready?" Called out Shikamaru.

Naruto ran over to his teammates, who were also packed up and gave a megawatt smile. "Yeah! I can't wait to continue this mission and kick some ass!"

Shikamaru and Hinata smiled at their teammate's enthusiasm. They all heard a shuffling of feet and saw Kurenai standing with Tazuna, who looked better now. Most likely because his hangover was gone since he didn't drink too much last night.

"Alright Team 8. Lets head out and try to make it to Wave before the end of the day."

"Hai!" Team 8 yelled out, or in this case Naruto did and his teammates not as loud as him.

Team 8 was walking out towards Wave, making sure to be extra cautious. They didn't want someone injured because they couldn't see a trap or ambush.

Naruto decided to ask some questions to their client. He had been wondering about a few things. "Sooo, this Gato guy took over your country right?"

"Erm, yeah." Tazuna said, though somewhat uneasily.

"What's he like? Is he a big guy with a dangerous look?"

Tazuna chuckled lightly. "Actually, he is a tiny midget of a man. He is smaller than most children, and has a head of crazy hair and black glasses." Tazuna's joyful attitude quickly faded. He grabbed out a bottle of sake and took a swig. "But he's still dangerous. He has money, bandits, missing nin, and a whole monopolizing company standing behind him."

Naruto nodded, understanding what Tazuna meant. Just because someone wasn't strong physically didn't mean they weren't strong in other ways. For example, Shikamaru before he was on Team 8. The lazy Nara was brilliant with anything that didn't involve hard work.

They all continued to walk to wave, though the atmosphere was a little more gloomy.

After a few moments, Naruto started striking up conversation with Shikamaru and Hinata, while Kurenai grilled Tazuna on any other information she should know.

This continued for a little while before Kurenai stopped walking. Everyone else stopped, wondering why.

"Hinata, use you Byakugan to scan for enemies." She commanded. Hinata nodded and placed her hands in front of her with the palms pressed together. "Byakugan!" She half yelled.

Naruto and Shikamaru both waited with baited breath as Hinata scanned the area. They placed themselves in a defensive formation around Tazuna, who looked scared once more at the thought of being attacked again.

The air became thick as Team 8 wait waited for what was to come. Hinata finally moved turned to her sensei and her teammates. "We don't need to worry. There are ninja from Konoha coming." She said calmly.

They all sighed with relief, happy that they avoided danger for now. Naruto was completely satisfied though. "Who's in the reinforcements?"

"W-well." She said timidly.

All of a sudden, there was a blur of green upon them. "YOUTH!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "No! Not this guy!"

"That's right young genin, my name is Maito Gai! Thank you for introducing me and saying my name!" He yelled, letting his teeth twinkle unnaturally at the end with his smile.

"Gai, why must you jump ahead and traumatize the other genins." Team 8 plus Tazuna turned to the shrubbery behind them to see Asuma walk out, cigarette in mouth and shaking his head at his fellow jonin.

"I wanted to scout ahead of us! And it favored us, as we have caught up with Team 8!"

"Well, you did, but the rest of our group is about fifteen minutes away. I ran up to make sure you didn't do something reckless."

Kurenai decided to break the oncoming bickering that was sure to happen.

"Not that I'm not happy that you're both here, I am quite concerned. I was told that Teams 7 and 10 were coming. Why are you here Gai?"

"Well, my team completed our mission early due to taking out the bandits that wished to harm our client. On our way back, we ran into the reinforcement party. I decided since our last mission was rather boring that we shall increase our flames of youth by going on this mission aswell!" He screamed out.

"*sigh* Don't worry. I already got the okay from my pops to have their team join the mission." Asuma siad, putting another cigarette in his mouth and lighting it.

She nodded to them both. She went on to tell her fellow jonins everything and explained the full situation, including how things were going with Tazuna.

Both Gai and Asuma were impressed by her team. Naruto was the dead last of his year, now doing chunin chakra exercises and a stylized taijutsu. He even beat a chunin! Gai now wished that Lee was put in that fight vs Naruto rather than Neji. They were very similar in many ways. It might have even changed what happened all those months ago.

Asuma was surprised by Shikamaru. He thought that the boy was lazy and laidback. He wanted to get that out of Shikamaru, but he knew that he probably wouldn't have been able to due to being somewhat lazy himself. Now the used to be Lazy Nara was working on increasing his reserves and using his shadows for long periods of time. It was an amazing improvement from his report from a few months ago. He also defeated a chunin! He really should have paid more attention to the lazy genin during the fight between Naruto and Shikamaru during that exercise.

After both jonins getting the rundown, it wasn't long for everyone else to show up.

"Yo!" called out Kakashi, who was too interested in his book to even look up at any of them. Behind him followed his students, which hadn't changed much in Team 8's eyes. Sasuke still looked like someone spit on his tomatoes, Sakura's head was up Sasuke's ass, and Ino surprisingly looked ashamed of her team's actions. Kurenai caught on easily, especially when Ino kept looking at her students longingly and how they changed, then looking back down at herself with guilt.

Members of Team 9 and 10 followed a few feet behind. A bushy eyebrowed kid that looked like his teacher came out with a megawatt smile on his face. "Yosh! You all must be Team 8! it is a pleasure to meet all of you! I hope to fight along side you with vigor and express my eternal fire!" Team 8 all sweatdropped, even Hinata. It seemed to them that the student had taken under his teacher to a whole new degree.

A girl with Buns in her hair, resembling a panda smacked Lee on the back of the head. "Lee! Don't shout your greetings to the other genin." She then turned to Team 8. "Hi, my name is Higarashi TenTen. You already met my sensei and my teammate here Lee. Neji is, well..."

They all turned to see Neji staring intently at Hinata. Said girl curled in on herself a little. Naruto noticed and got angry. Who was this guy to stare at his teammate with such hatred?

"Yo Naruto! How ya doing deadlast!" Naruto turned to see Kiba walking up with his teammates flanking him. Naruto was already angry at Neji, and almost blew up at that comment, but he could tell that Kiba meant it jokingly and not as an insult. "Yo Kiba. How you doing?" He asked, shaking Kibas hand with strength. "Oh, you know, same old anger management and working on taijutsu." Kiba said back with equal strength in his half of the hand shake.

Naruto heard what Kiba was going through because of his behavior, and while he didn't want to be in Kiba's shoes, he was happy that Kiba was being less like Sasuke. One was enough.

"Oi Dobe."

Speaking of said emo.

Naruto turned to see Sasuke looking at him with a smirk. "Looks like you couldn't handle your first C Rank on your own and had to call for backup, weakling." He said smugly.

Naruto was ready yell at him, but Shikamaru, who listened in with several others stepped in. "Last time I checked, this is now an A Rank mission. Both Naruto and I dispatched chunin level ninjas, and we were only following protocol when it come to mission status. And for your information, I believe that you still have a few months left of parole, so I'm guessing the Hokage let you come because he needed Kakashi here."

Shikamaru had a knowing smirk that Sasuke wanted to desperately remove from his face. Everyone that didn't know about his change looked at him with shock and respect. The lazy Nara never put his head in where he didn't want to, and that was always. He wasn't like this a few months ago, but then again, all of team 8 had gone through change. It made some of them kind of jealous, especially Ino.

Sasuke snarled at the Nara for his comment, but knew better than to attack now. He would do it later. He walked off angrily, with Sakura following a moment later like a leech.

They all split off for a little while, talking amongst themselves regarding the mission and the changes of their teams. Shikamaru and Choji caught up again, talking about going to the barbecue after the mission was complete, which they though everyone could agree on.

Naruto was talking to Kiba, Shino and Lee about his training regime, which impressed all of them, even Lee, who yelled about Naruto's youth, whatever that meant.

Hinata was talking Tenten and Ino, who were talking about their senseis.

"Kurenai-sensei has helped me a lot. I learned how to stay focused in combat, stutter less, and she's helping perfect my chakra control." Hinata said with happiness evident in her voice.

"Gai-sensei is alright. he helped me when I need to increase my endurance and practicing my shuriken jutsu. He's definitely weird, but he has helped me a lot this past year."

"*sigh* At least you guys have senseis that care about you. Kakashi has yet to teach me anything new these past two months." Both girls noticed how she left out 'sensei' when she referred to him. For her to not even consider him a teacher showed how bad he was.

"So what have you done these past few months?" Asked Tenten.

"Team Exercises." Ino stated blandly.

"Team Exercises?"

Ino nodded. "Since Team 7 was formed."

"So your sensei just has you do team exercises? And this has been happening for two months now?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, we haven't learn anything new, other than Sasuke. Kakashi gave him a fire technique to learn. When I asked about getting something new, he told me to increase my endurance and reserves, but I don't know how to do that without him teaching me, but he never does. It's the same thing everyday; Sasuke trains, Sakura watches, and I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do." She said with anger and sadness.

"Well,..." Said Hinata, getting Ino's attention. "If you'd like, I could ask Kurenai sensei if you would like to join our team for workouts and training?"

Ino smiled at the once shy girl. If someone like the introvert Hinata could become this under Kurenai-sensei, then she could only imagine what she could be like. "I would love that Hinata, thank you."

-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-

"Now that we're all debriefed and together, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and myself have decided to lay down some ground rules for all of you. That includes you Tazuna-san, so please stop drinking and listen in. *sigh* Anyway, the delegation of power will be in a ladder system. Since this is still Kurenai's mission, she will have first command. Any of us other senseis will be in command if she is not there or if she is out of commission." Kakashi stopped, letting everyone absorb that before dropping the next bomb on them.

"Next ,we have decided to have one of you be in charge of the group as a whole should any of us be unable to fight. We will let you decide, so please vote on who should be in charge."

"I vote for Sasuke-kun!" Screamed out Sakura, causing everyone around her to cover their ears. "Damn, I'm still a little hungover. Is she always this loud?" Anyone who heard him nodded vehemently, knowing she could be even worse.

"I usually wouldn't agree with a weakling, but I agree with her." Sasuke said smugly. Sakura gushed over him, completely ignoring his comment on her lack of strength. Ino found it repulsive and shameful.

Naruto found the idea of working under Sasuke to be the worst thing ever. He wanted to scream how he would do it, but he's never lead anyone before. If anything, there was someone else that does well with their training mission strategies and D -Rank planning, but he wasn't sure how said person would like being put in the spotlight. "Hmmm, I guess I'll vote for Shikamaru." he muttered out blandly.

Everyone's eyes went to Naruto, wondering why he said that. Well, except Tazuna, who was still trying to clear his head from the earlier scream.

What happened to Naruto?

The loudmouth they all knew would love to scream out his own name in an attempt for a chance to prove himself. "If I may asked" Shino said, interrupting the silence, "Why would you choose Nara-san?"

"Well, Shika's really smart and knows strategy and stuff. Plus he usually comes up with the plans we have for D-Rank missions. He way smarter than I am too, so I think he'll do an ok job at leading." Naruto said shrugging his shoulders.

"*sigh* Naruto, while i appreciate it, i don't really-" sadly, Shikamaru was cut off.

"Then I shall vote for Nara-san aswell. I have heard about your teamwork, and if it is true that he is behind it, then I hope he can lead us with success should our senseis be out of commission." Shino stated. Shikamaru wasn't liking where this was going.

"Now wait a minute-"

"I'll *crunch* vote for Shika too!" said Choji with a chip in hand.

"Same! I don't wanna have to be responsible for all of ya!" Shouted Kiba.

"I'll vote for him too." Hinata shyly commented.

"Yosh! While I would not usually vote on someone I have never met, I shall trust in the rest of your judgement and vote on Nara-san's eternal flames of youth!" yelled out Lee with fire in his eyes.

"Wait, I didn't say that I-"

"I'll vote for Shika too. I might not have liked him much, but seeing him fight during the team exercise makes me think that he'll do a better job than I would usually think." Ino said with a smile, earning a glare from Sakura and Sasuke.

Kurenai chuckled a little as she looked as Shikamaru become more downtrodden with the idea of having to do extra work. "Well Shikamaru, it seems that your fellow teammates want you to lead them. They have 7 votes, not including your own. What do you say to being a leader for this mission."

"*Sigh* I suppose I don't really have any choice." He looked around at those who voted for them and gave a slight smile. "Troublesome teammates."

-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-

The group of now 16 moved through the forest, making sure to keep their conversations more quiet. They didn't want to be exposed or sent into a trap because they couldn't do a ninja's basic function.

Naruto had a gut feeling building up and decided to act on it. Discretely taking out a kunai, he took it in hand and threw it into a bush, hearing a dull thunk.

Everyone went into a quick moment of tenseness, preparing for an attack, before Kurenai slowly stepped forward with her own kunai to see what Naruto tried to hit.

But what they found was a terrified looking white rabbit.

"Nice going dobe. You attacked a rabbit. At least we know all your training meant something." Sasuke said with a smirk. All the genins, besides Neji and Sakura, found the comment unneeded and simply rude. True, Naruto only found a rabbit, but he sensed it, and that was something none of them did.

The jonins were becoming more suspicious of their surroundings, looking around discreetly with their eyes.

Naruto growled at Sasuke. He could have sworn it was something else. Then he stopped and looked at the still terrified rabbit.

'Wait, White rabbit in summer? That makes no sense. It was like it was made for a-" Naruto's eyes widened. He looked to his teammates, and he saw on their faces that they made the same deduction as him.

"Eyeryone duck!" Yelled out Kurenai and Kakashi as she tackled both Tazuna and Ino to the ground. Kakashi pushed his own students out of the way, Asuma with Choji, and the rest of them moving out of their way on their own, including Naruto and Shikamaru.

They all found themselves on the floor, having to pick themselves up quickly. "Well isn't this a surprise. I get a whole bunch of Treehuggers. And to think, I thought this mission might be too easy." They all turned to see a man with bandages covering his face, dark clothing, leaving his chest and arms exposed while looking intimidating with his giant cleaver like sword in hand.

Kurenai was the first to state what the jonins all knew. "Momoichi Zabuza, also know as the Demon of the Bloody Mist of Kirigakure, A rank missing nin and one of the seven swordmen of the mist." she explained coldly.

"Oh, so you know of me." He said, with a smile obvious under his bandages. "Well, after I finish you lot off and kill the bridge builder, you won't be able to tell anyone of this little encounter. After all, you have 12 brats to watch and an old man, don't ya." He swung his blade out to point to the group before him.

"Now, who wants to die first?"

(End Chapter 10)

Yay! Chapter done! I hope you guys like it. I will be adding a chapter that is just full of omakes later, so give me some ideas that you would like added into it.

Please review and tell me what you though or any concerns.

Until next time, see ya!


	11. Chapter 10 5: Voting Time!

Chapter 10.5: Notice to all my readers.

Note: This Chapter will be deleted after the the new one is posted.

The story continues! But I need you all to read this!

For those of you expecting another chapter, I'm sorry, but please keep reading if you want to vote!

I made a few errors in the story and I apologize. They are now fixed or are in the process of being changed for the future.

I am creating this little info booth to ask what you want to happen in the upcoming chapters. This is a voters choice zone.

Naruto will end up with Hinata, but there are other things that are bound to happen, so I must ask. Everyone who reads this gets a vote in every category.

Here are to questions that need to be answered by all of you:

Who do you want to have Shikamaru end up with? Temari? Tenten? Ino? The list goes on...

Will Haku survive? Yes or No?

If Haku survives, where will he go? Konoha? Stay in Wave? Kiri?

Will Zabuza survive? Yes or No?

Will Kakashi get his team disbanded under orders of the Hokage due to negligence? Yes, No, or Just Ino leaving?

Will Sasuke defect? Yes Or No?

Will Sasuke die? Yes or No?

Will the Hokage die in the Suna Invasion? Yes or No?

Will Jiraiya be bashed? Yes or No?

More questions to come, but please vote and tell me what you would like to happen in the story.

I really like this story, so please tell me anything I need to do to make it better.

ALSO, go check out my other stories please!

Until next time, I hope that you find it in your hearts to continue to read my story and enjoy what I write.

Please follow and review.

See ya!


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